ABERDEEN will grant Rangers permission to speak to Derek McInnes about becoming their new manager this week - if the Ibrox club agree to pay them £1.5 million in compensation.
McInnes, who has led Aberdeen to three consecutive runners-up finishes in the Ladbrokes Premiership, is the man the Rangers board want to take over from Pedro Caixinha, who was sacked on Thursday.
The 46-year-old spent five years as a player at the Glasgow club during the 1990s and club directors are hopeful he will find the opportunity to return too tempting to turn down.
Read more: If Derek McInnes says yes to Rangers it will be Aberdeen's biggest setback since Fergie left
The former St. Johnstone and Bristol City head coach appeared set to be appointed at Sunderland, who had just been relegated from the Barclays Premier League, back in June.
However, he chose to remain at Aberdeen due to concerns about his squad and the level of funding he would receive at the Stadium of Light and signed a one year contract extension which ties him to Pittodrie until 2020.
The level of compensation a club will have to pay to secure McInnes's services increased from £1 million to £1.5 million when he agreed his new deal.
However, Rangers, who paid £500,000 to Qatari club Al-Gharafa back in March when they appointed Caixinha, appreciate they need to get this appointment right after a disappointing spell and are not expected to baulk at the asking price.
Dave King, the Rangers chairman and major shareholder who spent last week in Scotland, is set to take a more active role in the appointment than he was when both Mark Warburton and Caixinha were brought in.
Michel Preud'homme, the former Club Brugge, Standard Liege, Gent, Twente and Al-Shabab manager, was yesterday linked with the vacancy at Rangers when his agent Ugi Canturk revealed he had spoken to representatives of the Ibrox club.
Canturk said: “We’ve had a nice conversation with Rangers and everything is open. Michel is honoured that Rangers would consider him because he sees them as a huge club.
"The talks were very open. Michel has made it clear to the club he wants to be considered. He wants the job so if they want him, he will do it."
However, McInnes, whose Aberdeen side beat Ross County 2-1 at Pittodrie on Saturday to move to within a point of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table, remains Rangers' preferred candidate.
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