Borna Barisic faces probably the toughest fight out of any of the current first-team regulars at Rangers. For all that Ridvan Yilmaz is only 21-years old and relatively inexperienced, the £5million plus transfer fee that it took to sign him from Besiktas suggests that he is here to play.
It looks as though the Turkey international is being given time to settle into a new club and country, the language barrier for a start likely to be an issue initially as well. There is no point rushing him when there is someone like Barisic available who, for all his dips in form, can still be relied upon to do a job.
The Croatian has been the subject of interest though with big spending Nottingham Forest said to be interested and former Gers gaffer, Alex McLeish, wouldn’t be surprised if he is persuaded to head south, as told to Football Insider:
“I would have thought he would be keen to cement his legacy as a regular fixture in this Rangers team.
“Given last season was, kind of, topsy-turvey for him. I think any of the players would be ambitious about going to the Premier League.
“That’s just one of the facts of life, let’s face it. Forest are spending a lot of money, it must be over the £100million mark.
“I wish I had that money when I was at Forest. I’m sure it would turn the heads of a lot of Scottish League players if a Premier League club came in.
“Rangers are playing at an elite level in Europe, it’s a balance. Either way, they will be playing in Europe, so that’s an attraction.
“The Premier League is security for the players, Rangers pay well but it is difficult for them to compete with Premier League teams.”
I don’t think that Barisic has anything to prove at Rangers and, at 29-years old, he may well be tempted into having a crack at a higher level in terms of domestic football – after all, why would you want to play Livingston and Kilmarnock four times each a season?
When you consider the threat sitting on the bench waiting for his turn as well, it could be that now is the best time for a parting of ways and Ross Wilson would be expected to make a profit on a player we signed for £2.2m.
He might not have the European nights but he would also have to play about 20 games less a season, not a bad way to extend your career, and not a bad way to inflate your bank balance either.
Barisic is not a left back,, if any team puts in a nice offer for him? take it . We have a big problem down the left side of our defence, and we have to get it sorted out soon. Celtic fan’s are laughing their heads of with the way we are playing at the moment , and will fancy there chances to win the league. We will have to get our defence in order soon as we are playing a lot of important games and need to be playing for the shirt , or we will be in big trouble . Shankill Ray ✋