Much of Rangers business this summer could depend on what offers come in for Steven Gerrard’s star men and one such player could be Borna Barisic, if the Croatian international this the heights that we all know he is capable of in this summer’s European Championships.
With Calvin Bassey and James Maxwell not yet ready to step into the left-back slot full time, one play who has already been mentioned as a possible replacement is Barry Douglas, the Scottish international defender who has recently left Leeds United at the end of his contract and, speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, a move to Glasgow wouldn’t be out of the question:
“He’s unaware of the ‘noise’ linking him to a move to Rangers, although admits if a chance to move back to his home city arose he’d have to consider it, and having taken the road less travelled by with spells in Poland and Turkey, he’s open minded about his future.”
Douglas has a lot of similarities to Barisic in that he is very much the modern full-back, known for his crossing and set-piece delivery as well as scoring the odd spectualr free-kick himself. At 31-years old he is in the latter stages of his career, however, a short term deal would allow Bassey and Maxwell time to develop before they are given the opportunity to fight over the starting jersey.
It’s a deal that would tick a lot of boxes, however, a player of Douglas’s quality won’t be on the free market for long, but, as we’ve seen with Ross Wilson in the past, he is never one to be reactive and, if there is the slightest hint that Barisic could be away, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a man who has gained promotion to the Premier League twice in his career pack up his bags and head home.