Rangers and West Brom chase Dundee United's Scott Allan
- Published
Allan has won four caps at under-21 level for Scotland
Manager Ally McCoist has confirmed that Rangers have spoken to Dundee United to register their interest in midfielder Scott Allan.
United have agreed a fee to sell the 20-year-old to West Bromwich Albion.
If the player opts to leave Tannadice in January, the Scottish Premier League club are expected to earn around £300,000 from the deal.
"We spoken to Dundee United to let them know our intentions," McCoist told the Rangers website.
"Now we need to speak to young Scott and his representatives.
"He is still United's player but I would have to say he is a very, very good one and in terms of young talent in the country, he's up there with anybody.
"Teams at the bottom end of the Premiership and in the Championship are more than capable of outbidding us and offering higher wages.
"That's just a fact of life but I think we would perhaps be in a position to go to Dundee United and see what we can offer them."
West Brom technical and sporting director Dan Ashworth held discussions with United and the Midlands club's manager Roy Hodgson says the player needs time to develop.
"We are talking about a 20-year-old," said Hodgson.
"Dan likes the player and thinks he has got an interesting future.
"He is not a player we've discussed in first team terms, to improve the first team straight away. He will need some time."
In September, Celtic manager Neil Lennon admitted he was keeping an eye on Allan's development.
Allan's deal at Tannadice runs out in the summer, at which point United would receive a compensation fee.
Despite having made only seven first-team appearances for the Tayside outfit, the midfielder has attracted the attention of several clubs.
The Scotland under-21 international was offered a contract extension by at Tannadice, which he turned down.
Dundee United manager Peter Houston said that, in making that decision, the player had been advised poorly, adding that he was "nowhere near ready" to play first-team football at one of the Old Firm clubs.
Allan came through the youth system at United, and he also had a spell on loan at Forfar Atheltic in Scottish League Division Two.