Rangers linked with West Ham defender Reece Oxford

The 18-year-old would be Mark Warburton's third loan signing of the January window following earlier deals for Arsenal midfielder Jon Toral and Emerson Hyndman of Bournemouth.

Oxford became the youngest player to appear in West Ham's first team in July 2015 when he faced Andorran side Lusitans in the Europa League at the age of 16, and he soon made his Premier League debut in a 2-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

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The England Under-20 international - who can also play in midfield - signed a four-and-a-half year contract on his 18th birthday last month despite what West Ham claimed was "strong interest from some of the biggest teams in the country".

He has recently returned from an ankle injury and has been tipped for the very top by Hammers boss Slaven Bilic, who said last month: "I really believe he has got everything. On paper he has all the abilities to become a world-class player and it is now up to him to train hard and for us to manage him well for him to fulfil it."

Hyndman and Toral made their debuts in Rangers' 2-1 William Hill Scottish Cup win over Motherwell and the latter hopes to get up to speed soon with a Ladbrokes Premiership trip to Fir Park to follow on Saturday.

Toral told the Official Rangers Podcast: "It was great to get my first game at Ibrox. It was tough cup tie but it was great to go through.

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"It was different to playing in Spain. Everything in Spain is a little bit slower tempo, games in Britain are a little bit quicker.

"So I am getting used to that again and getting match-fit because I haven't played a lot this season. I need to get that brightness and match-fitness to be at the top of my game.

"I am pushing myself physically on the training ground because I need to be able to play two full games in a week. With training and games that will come."