Airdrieonians are poised to sign former Rangers youth striker Dapo Mebude, according to Lanarkshire Live Sport sources. The 24-year-old Englishman, who came through the ranks at Ibrox, spent last season with Championship side Arbroath, making 21 appearances and scoring two goals.
Competition for signature
The Diamonds faced strong interest from other SPFL clubs, but Mebude is understood to be nearing a move to John Rankin's squad as they aim for the League One title this season. Since leaving Rangers in 2021, Mebude has had spells at Queen of the South, Dunfermline Athletic, AFC Wimbledon, and stints abroad at Oostende in Belgium and Septemvri Sofia in Bulgaria, though his goal tally has been modest.
Manager's update on trialists
Earlier this week, Airdrie boss John Rankin told Lanarkshire Live Sport he was assessing several trialists ahead of Saturday's first pre-season friendly against Elgin City. “We’ve got a number of trialists at the club and probably more than I have ever experienced before,” Rankin said. “We obviously don’t have a lot of players signed up yet so it is a bit of a blank canvas, trying to see what we have and judge the ones on trial just now. There’s lot of good options there but we want to take a bit of time to get it right. There are a lot of good players out there. The trialists have impressed us and done well so far and there are now games coming up this week for them. I’m not sure there will be many of them signing this week, but there may be a couple that have done well and we want to get in now.”
