LEE McCULLOCH could be first to go as Rangers' January sales take shape.

Premiership side Stoke City are understood to be keen to land the 30-year-old and are preparing to offer £1.5million for the midfielder they failed to capture in the last transfer window.

McCulloch has seen his stock fall at Ibrox recently and has featured mainly in the Ibrox reserves, before returning to top team action at centre-half in last weekend's 2-1 win over St Mirren.

But with competition for places in the midfield red-hot, despite Kevin Thomson's cruciate ligament injury, McCulloch could be allowed to leave by Gers boss Walter Smith as he looks to offload in the January window.

The Ibrox futures of Brahim Hemdani and Jean-Claude Darcheville are also under serious threat as they currently earn around £30,000 a week between them and Rangers are keen to free up that money. Time may also be called on the likes of Christian Dailly, Chris Burke and Charlie Adam.

Smith is believed to have cranked up his scouring of Europe as he looks to land a classy continental stopper in the mould of Carlos Cuellar as a long-term replacement for the veteran Davie Weir.

Meantime, the ageless Weir has paid tribute to Madjid Bougherra for successfully filling the void left by Cuellar.

Fans were furious when Cuellar was sold to Aston Villa for £7.8m in August, fearing his departure would have a detrimental effect on Rangers' title hopes.

But the Spanish centre-half has all but been forgotten at Ibrox just a few short months later thanks to the form of Bougherra.

The Algerian - who is expected to shake off a dead leg to face Aberdeen on Saturday - was recruited from Charlton in the summer and has hardly put a foot wrong since being slotted into the team alongside Weir.

"Madjid has come in and taken to things straight away," said the veteran. "He deserves great credit for that. He keeps things simple and that is the nature of being a defender."

Kenny Miller remains a major doubt for Saturday with a calf problem, but Sasa Papac will be back after missing out last week with a head knock.