RANGERS will have to fend off strong interest from several of England’s leading clubs to land Paul Mitchell as their new director of football, the Ibrox club were today warned.

Mitchell has emerged as the leading contender for the new role at the Ladbrokes Premiership club after Ross Wilson decided to remain in his position at Southampton.

Wilson, the 34-year-old Scot who has previously worked at Falkirk, Watford and Huddersfield, had been the Rangers board’s preferred choice.

However, he has chosen to stay at the St. Mary’s Stadium, where he only moved last year, after taking the past week to mull over the offer.

Mitchell, who left his position as head of recruitment with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday after spending the last six months on gardening leave, is now the front runner for the post.

The 35-year-old resigned back in August after the White Hart Lane club appointed Steve Hitchen as their chief scout. He is reported to have found working with chairman Daniel Levy difficult in north London.

But Gary Teale, a close friend and former team mate of the Englishman, believes it won’t be long before he lands another prominent role at a major Barclays Premier League club.

The former Wigan and MK Dons defender is held in high regard down south as a result of his success in the transfer market at both Southampton and Spurs. He was instrumental in Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic joining Southampton and Dele Alli moving to Spurs.

Teale, the former Scotland winger who played with Mitchell at Wigan, is confident that Mitchell’s services will be in great demand.

“I’m still in contact with Paul and have been over the last number of years,” he said. “My personal experience is he’s a very personable guy with a vast knowledge of the game for someone of such a young age.

“He is a great people person with a fantastic personality. He is able to engage with anyone. He is quite a funny guy and is always cracking jokes. He isn’t the class clown, but he is very witty, very sharp, very switched on. He is a Mancunian with a broad Mancunian accent.

“Paul is very personable guy. That has been a great asset to him since his career was ended by a bad injury and he moved into player recruitment. It will have helped him when it comes to building relationships with agents, with clubs, with players.

“But, let’s be honest, you don’t get to do the jobs he’s done at the clubs he’s worked at without having great nous, intelligence and acumen. He’s very bright guy. That is why he is held in such high regard in the game.

“There are a few clubs that want to talk to him. I don’t know the circumstances behind him leaving Tottenham, but I am sure that ideally they would have wanted to keep him as well.”

Robert Rowan, the Scot who is head of football operations at Brentford, and Craig Moore, the former defender who is football director at Brisbane Roar in Australia, have also been linked with moves to Rangers since it emerged they were looking to appoint a director of football.

Teale can understand why Mitchell is also being considered given his track record at MK Dons, Southampton and Spurs and believes he would enjoy similar success in Scotland even though he has never played or worked in this country.

“The players Paul brought in at Southampton and Tottenham have always provided great value for money,” he said. "Okay, they are working in a bigger market where clubs are asking exorbitant prices for players. But he has still been able to sign a player for value for money. They have also been sold on for a premium prices. If he can do that at that level then he can also do it at Rangers. The skill set he has is what matters.”

Teale, who has spent the past 18 months pursuing business interests after a spell in charge of St. Mirren, believes Mitchell would be able to forge an excellent working partnership with Pedro Caixinha, who is set to be confirmed as the new Rangers manager in the coming days, despite not knowing the Portuguese coach.

Caixinha and his representative are currently negotiating this departure from Al-Gharaf in Qatar. The 46-year-old will have to pay £300,000 to buy himself out of his £2 million-a-year contract.

But he is expected to take over the running of the first team from caretaker manager Graeme Murty after the league game against Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday.

Teale, though, believes it is vital for Caixinha, not the director of football, to have final say on the players that Rangers sign if the new structure of the football department at the Glasgow club is to prove successful.

“I still think the manager should decide what players are brought in,” he said. “They must work in tandem with the director of football or the sporting director.

"Together, they come up with a list of three or four players in every position and then the director of football does the homework and due diligence into the player. The player has to fit into the model or the culture of the club.

“But the manager has got to decide. He is the one who has to stand on the touchline in front of the fans on match days. He can't be expected to do that with players somebody else has signed.”