Wednesday 2 January 2019 09:34, UK
Southampton are willing to let Steven Davis rejoin Rangers if the Scottish club can muster an agreeable contract offer for the Northern Ireland midfielder, Sky Sports News understands.
The 33-year-old, who moved to St Mary's from Ibrox in 2012, is entering the final six months of his contract on the south coast and Gers boss Steven Gerrard is very interested in bringing him back to Glasgow.
But wages are believed to be a potential stumbling block, despite Davis being willing to take a pay-cut and Southampton being open to a permanent exit.
Rangers still have a number of high-earners on their books, including two that are out on loan in Mexican pair Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena, reputed to be on £25,000 per week each.
Gerrard said earlier this month that he feared this high expenditure could impact his January transfer plans.
"It's a huge frustration for me personally if I'm honest, because some of these players that are not with us at the moment are earning big, big money when you compare it to the rest of the group," he said.
"That's money I could be doing with to recycle and make this team a lot stronger and healthier and make it compete a lot better. It's a huge frustration for me but it is what it is.
"Hopefully in the coming weeks and months we can wheel and deal and move people on and bring people in and be in a much better position. That's what I want, but whether we can make it happen, I'll have to wait and see."
Former Aston Villa and Fulham man Davis has 107 caps for Northern Ireland and has played over 200 times for Southampton, scoring 14 goals, since joining from the Gers.