SHEFFIELD UNITED have failed in an audacious attempt to lure Paul Gascoigne back to English football.
The ambitious First Division club inquired about the England international's availability last month shortly after his future at Rangers had been placed in doubt because of domestic problems.
Although the Yorkshire club was willing to invest in excess of £3 million in Gascoigne they were told he was definitely not for sale and that he would be remaining at Ibrox to honour the remaining 18 months of his contract.
"This is a big club and one which deserves the biggest names in the game," said United manager Howard Kendall. "We did make contact with Rangers but we did not receive a great deal of encouragement."
Kendall made his surprising move ahead of a proposed takeover at Bramall Lane, one which is likely to provide him with around £5 million for new players. However, David Findlay, vice chairman of Rangers, insisted that Gascoigne would not be moving. Findlay said that the England midfielder would be expected to fulfil his contract, which does not expire until the summer of 1998. There is, however, every possibility that Rangers would be willing to recoup some of the £4.3 million they paid Lazio for Gascoigne should they win their ninth successive league championship this season.
Kendall said: "I have spoken to Walter Smith about Gascoigne, but what was discussed between us must remain private." Findlay added: "I know of no change in our long stated policy to have Paul Gascoigne honour his contract here."
The troubled midfielder has been a mere shadow of himself since last month, when his ordering off against Ajax in a Champions League match in Amsterdam was accompanied by the report that he had allegedly beaten his wife. Since then, psychotherapy sessions seem to have left him without the old urges, the manic commitment from which he draws his effectiveness. Even amid the passions of the Old Firm match at Celtic Park last Thursday night, he looked like a man who was still lying on the counselling couch.
Rangers manager Smith is privately anxious about Gascoigne recovering his energy and his form and if his side can achieve their ambition of matching Celtic's record number of successive league titles, he could be willing to move the great enigma on.
Smith is presently in Chile, looking at and talking to Sebastiono Rozental, a 20 year old striker with Universidad Catolica about whom he has had encouraging reports. There are, however, complications about a possible transfer. All 10 of the allowed work permits for non EC footballers in Scotland are currently in use. St Johnstone took the last one available a few days ago by signing the Canadian, Nick Dasovic. It is claimed that Rozental has British grandparents and could qualify on those grounds, but, according to Findlay, a Queen's Counsel in his day job, nothing has been established in that direction.
"As you can imagine, it's very complicated," he said. "These deals don't happen overnight. We don't even know if his grandparents are British or whether that would count. The difficulties with players from that part of the world are well known, and we see examples at Middlesbrough at the moment.
"We only have to look ourselves to this time last year, when Walter tried to sign the Brazilian striker, Jardel. We couldn't break down the bureaucracy and now Jardel is merrily scoring goals for Porto in the Champions League."
That is something Rangers have largely failed to do this season, with only two in their four matches so far. Smith is due back in Glasgow tomorrow, the day before Grass hopper of Zurich have to be met at Ibrox in the penultimate match of the Champions League series.
