Sunderland striker David Healy's agent has dismissed reports the Northern Ireland striker is set to leave the club for Rangers.

Healy, 29, has not started a single Barclays Premier League game since joining the Black Cats from Fulham in August.

Reports today claim he is being lined up by Rangers as a potential replacement for top scorer Kris Boyd, who is poised to join Birmingham.

But agent Stephen Hughes told BBC Sport: "I have heard nothing. We are not engineering anything.

"I spoke to Sunderland earlier this week, and nothing was mentioned."

Despite finding himself frozen out at the Stadium of Light, November saw Healy express his desire to stay and fight for his place at Sunderland.

However, his status as Northern Ireland's first-choice striker could be threatened if he fails to make the breakthrough.

The speculation comes as Rangers mull selling their top goalscorer Boyd to Birmingham City in a £3.75m transfer that will fuel anxiety among a support increasingly concerned about the club's wellbeing.

Rangers' willingness to offload the striker, who has scored 20 goals already this season, could have major implications for their title challenge. It also illustrates the seriousness of their financial difficulties. Rangers' debt is estimated at around £20m and Sir David Murray, the chairman, is desperate to make up the shortfall amid a global financial crisis from which his other business interests are not immune.

"Birmingham have made an inquiry. We talked about money but we haven't agreed a fee," said Murray last night.

Birmingham submitted their offer last night and were confident of the five-year deal being completed by the end of the week. Rangers are keen to drive up the price as much as possible since Kilmarnock are entitled to a sell-on fee as part of the original £400,000 deal that took him from Rugby Park to Ibrox.

Boyd's imminent reunion with Alex McLeish at St Andrews comes after Newcastle United expressed their interest in signing Barry Ferguson and Madjid Bougherra. The Herald understands Rangers have sanctioned the sale of Boyd as a direct consequence of their Champions League qualification defeat to FBK Kaunas, which cost them around £10m in revenue from the group stages.

There are no guarantees that Boyd's transfer will be the last major departure of the window. Rangers would find it virtually impossible to reject a £4.5m offer from Newcastle for Bougherra, who signed for £2.5m from Charlton Athletic.

There is also the dilemma of what to do with their captain, Barry Ferguson. Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, criticised Joe Kinnear for his claim that the clubs were in negotiations, but with 18 months left on Ferguson's deal, worth around £25,000 per week, the club in their current financial peril must consider whether to cash in on the 30-year-old or renegotiate within the next year with dwindling funds.

Ferguson has been heavily criticised since returning from reconstructive ankle surgery, the third serious operation of his career. Smith has Pedro Mendes and Steven Davis available, while Maurice Edu has had few opportunities since his $5m transfer from FC Toronto. Although the club would be reluctant to lose Ferguson, he is no longer inexpendable.

Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, has been challenged to cull up to 10 players from the bloated, 28-strong first-team squad. Jean-Claude Darcheville's free transfer to Valencienne started the departures, with the club saving the Frenchman's £20,000 per week salary.

Alan Gow will complete his £350,000 transfer to Wolves today, pending a medical, but the need to remove the remaining surplus is now essential.

Brahim Hemdani is one of the biggest drains on resources. He is earning £17,000 per week but was told in the summer he is no longer part of the plans. The Algerian has attracted no interest and has shown no great desire to leave and play regular first-team football.

If and when the Boyd transfer is completed, Rangers will resume their attempts to remove the dead wood but another significant sale towards the end of the window cannot be discounted.

In the meantime, Christian Dailly, Graeme Smith, Steven Smith, DaMarcus Beasley and Chris Burke w ill all be available for transfer.

The furore that greeted news of Boyd's imminent departure last night was in contrast to the apathy demonstrated by fans last season, when Cardiff City were poised to sign the striker after he had fallen out of first-team favour. The move could prompt Smith to consider reverting to last season's 4-1-4-1 formation, which was considerably more successful than it was popular. Kenny Miller is the ideal lone striker but the manager is under pressure to persist with a more attack-minded 4-4-2.

Boyd's prolific goalscoring prowess is not easily replaced, but the manager is soothed by the fact he will now be able to play Kyle Lafferty in his preferred position.

Andrius Velicka and Nacho Novo will also move up the pecking order after what is being described as a "watershed" sale for the club.

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