Rumoured Rangers target on big wages will return to club who wanted to 'sell' after bold January claims

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has revealed that previously Rangers-linked Kevin van Veen will return to FC Groningen this summer with the Scottish Premiership side unable to afford his wages.

Van Veen joined Kilmarnock on loan for the second-half of the season in January and has helped his temporary club to qualify for European football next season. Killie staved off competition from St Mirren and former club Motherwell to land the Dutchman.

Things haven’t gone to plan for Van Veen individually, however , with the striker yet to score for Kilmarnock in 11 appearances, with minutes restricted. And McInnes admits a loan extension or permanent move this summer is off the cards.

“We signed Kevin and it was for 18 weeks on a level of money we normally can’t go to,” he said. “We don’t have the ability to go to that level for a player. We were supported by the board in the window because we felt we needed other options.

“The form of Marley [Watkins] and Vass [Kyle Vassell] has been significant and Kevin recognises that too. He’s not been unhappy or upset at not making more of a contribution. He recognises they are two boys who have been hard to shift.”

That baron run for Van Veen comes as a surprise, given his last season in the Scottish Premiership saw him net 25 goals in 38 league games for Motherwell. That form earned him a move to FC Groningen last summer but another return to Scotland could be on the cards.

The 32-year-old claimed in January that he rejected a move to Rangers in the summer of 2023 and insists that interest from Ibrox remains. And it could be that Groningen are open to a sale.

 "Even though I rejected them (Rangers) in the summer, there is still interest,” Van Veen said back in January. "But there are more clubs that find a striker who scored 29 goals last season interesting. I can contact clubs in the entire Scottish League directly, but they all want to loan me while FC Groningen prefers to sell.

"It is difficult for many Scottish clubs to come close to what FC Groningen paid for me in terms of a transfer fee and that is a problem. I don't want to be a failure. In Scotland I'm still a hero, I can't even go shopping normally. If an opportunity comes along that is good for the club and for myself, we have to act. But we are still a long way from that.”