McLeish confirms Carew nearly became a Ger

Former manager Alex McLeish has revealed that he was on the brink of signing Norway striker John Carew for Rangers in 2003.

McLeish believes that if he could have signed Carew then perhaps his fortunes at Ibrox would have been different but revealed that the now Aston Villa frontman chose to go to Roma instead.

"I tried to bring John Carew to Rangers five years ago and he would have been a massive signing, in so many senses," McLeish told the Daily Mail.

"It was in 2003, when Barry Ferguson was sold to Blackburn and a few other significant players who had enjoyed key roles in the treble win left as well.

"Unfortunately, we brought in a lot of free-transfer players that summer and the level of quality dropped somewhat.

"Rangers were in touch with Carew's lawyer and representatives and the talks took place towards the close of the transfer window.

"There was talk of a permanent deal but I would have been happy to get him over to Glasgow for a year's loan.

"He went to Roma instead before later playing for Besiktas and Lyon.

"If we had managed to get someone like Carew, I think he would have made a huge difference to Rangers that season."