Who is Josh Doig? Rangers target's dream move to Marseille has dramatically collapsed

Josh Doig has attracted interest from clubs across Europe during the January transfer window after his standout performances in Serie A. Marseille looked destined to sign the Scotland U-21 captain this month but the move has reportedly collapsed with the French giants unhappy with Verona’s demands. Doig followed a familiar path for Scottish youngsters in recent years by moving to Italy. Liam Henderson, Aaron Hickey and Lewis Ferguson all forged successful careers in Serie A and Doig departed boyhood club Hibernian in 2022 to join Verona in a €3.60 million deal. The 21-year-old quickly established himself as a first-team regular and flourished in a new environment. Doig has only made 36 appearances for Verona but the left-back has already developed into their most valuable player but he could have played his last game for the club.

Why are Verona so willing to sell Doig?

Verona are facing financial difficulty and need to offload players to balance their books. Doig is their prized asset and he’s received interest from a host of clubs, including Sassuolo, Torino and Marseille. While Doig favoured a move to France, Marseille couldn't agree a fee with Verona as Transfermakt’s Italian expert Jatin Dietl explains. “He had a very good start at Verona last season and got a bit reinforced by the big impact Hickey had at Bologna,” Dietl said. “But at the end of the last season he had some minor physical problems and he lost his place in the starting eleven. This season has been characterised by highs and lows, but not at the level of his first mounts in Italy. Verona has some financial problems and have to sell a lot of players. That's why he is on the market and there are lots of club interested - Sassuolo, OM and Torino. At this moment, only Sassuolo has satisfied Veronas requests, but the player wanted OM.”

Why did Doig's dream move to Marseille collapse? 

Doig starred in Verona’s 2-1 win over Empoli on Sunday night and all indications were that would be his last game for the club. The talented Scot preference was to join Marseille but that deal now looks off with the French giants now moving onto Ulysses Garcia from Young Boys. Renan Lodi is close to leaving Marseille for Saudi Arabia for €22m and the French side could still add two left-backs this month so a deal for Doig could be revived. Verona, however, would reportedly rather sell Doig to Sassuolo after their Serie A rivals lodged a last-minute bid over the weekend. Marseille was Doig’s dream move and the Scottish starlet was waiting at the airport to fly to France when he was informed that the deal was off in a massive blow to the defender. Several clubs still retain an interest in Doig, including Rangers in his homeland. The Ibrox club have monitored him closely in Italy but any potential deal this month will depend on if they can sell fellow left-back Ridvan Yilmaz.

How much is Doig worth?

Doig remains Verona’s most valuable player at €7m despite his valuation falling €3m from it’s record high of €10m in March 2023. His drop in value was due to him losing his regular starting berth at Verona towards the end of last season. Doig’s valuation increased considerably after moving to Verona from Hibs but the Italian club’s financial issues means he will likely depart for below his current market value with a €5-6m fee mooted. Hibs will also benefit from Doig’s departure as they hold a 27.5% sell-on clause.