Galatasaray ready to bid £5m for Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra

Galatasaray are preparing to test the financial stability of Rangers with a £5million bid for Madjid Bougherra.

• Galatasaray are preparing to test the financial stability of Rangers with a £5million bid for Madjid Bougherra. 
• Sportsmail has learned that the Turkish giants have established informal contact with the Algerian defender’s camp to establish whether a move to Istanbul would appeal
• Team-mate Kris Boyd is considering lucrative offers from Turkey, while former SPL stars Michael Stewart and Billy Mehmet have signed lucrative deals there this summer. 
• Rangers received a massive boost this week, retaining manager Walter Smith for a further season.
• But as chief executive Martin Bain promises to reinvest Champions League money in new signings following an agreement with Lloyds Bank, the quest to retain players faces a fresh examination. Galatasaray coach Frank Rijkaard has authorised sporting director Adnane Sizerin to seek a replacement for exiting defender Servet Cetin.
• Juventus and Panathinaikos are also interested in Bougherra as Rangers consider a bid from Liverpool for Danny Wilson. Currently at Algeria’s World Cup training camp in Switzerland, Bougherra will miss Friday’s warm-up game with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin following a calf tear.
• Believed to have prioritised a move to a top Premiership club, the defender said yesterday: ‘I do not care about a transfer. The only thing that worries me is my rehabi l itation and preparation for the World Cup.’
• Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, meanwhile, insists the retention of Smith proves it is business as usual at the SPL champions.
• Internet sites buzzed with rumours yesterday that Andrew Ellis was close to completing a takeover.
• Those rumours were later dismissed by senior sources as Johnston, who had challenged Ellis to put  up or walk away, said: ‘It’s not a question of being fed up waiting. He can take as long as he wants. But we are moving ahead with our business, demonstrating that the ship is stable.
• ‘Circumstances change by the day. In the last 10 days, we have reached an agreement with the bank in terms of our business plan, we have signed a management team and we are acting as if there is no reliance on a change of ownership for the club.
• ‘If there is a change and it takes in the best interests of both parties, then we will address that.’

• Smith’s decision to sign a new deal had been interpreted in some quarters as a sign of more secure times ahead but Johnston insisted: ‘The timing is coincidental. The discussions were separate from any concurrent discussions which might have been taking place.’