Thursday has been a busy day so far in terms of transfer speculation at Ibrox, with reports regarding the futures of Borna Barisic and Niko Katic.
The Croatian duo are far from guaranteed to still be in Glasgow at the other side of the transfer window, whilst different situations apply, individually.
For Barisic, his is a question of age, contracts and player trading. There is no rush to see the Croatian internationalist out the door, but links to Turkey as well as other countries are growing with a move possibly beneficial for player and club.
Today, a report from the Scottish press outlined in similar terms, the state of play for the Rangers full-back:
“The latest to be linked with a move away is Borna Barisic, who certainly has suitors in other leagues. Not least Turkey, England and now, according to the Daily Record, Serie A.”
“The 29-year-old has two years left on his deal and this summer may be his last chance to make a life-changing move if he and his agent can get a deal over the line.”
Fight
Meanwhile, Niko Katic is set to return to Glasgow for pre-season training following his relatively successful loan spell in his homeland with Hajduk Split.
In terms of attitude, commitment and desire, Katic is a shining example of professionalism but for Steven Gerrard and quite possibly, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, there are difficulties in terms of playing style and attributes that stand between the defender and the chance to prolong his Ibrox career. We are likely to see the powerful centre-half in action over the next few weeks, but he will be closely assessed each day behind closed doors by the coaches.
Unfortunately, the 25-year old just does not possess the desired quality on the ball to enhance his chances at Rangers – now is his last chance to make a claim.
Hajduk were said to have first refusal on a permanent deal but quotes from the club have intimated that the price was too high for their means:
“Katic is no longer with us, the compensation clause that the Rangers insist on is too big for now, he is returning to Scotland for now.”
“This is not realistic to realize so far, we cannot enter into negotiations, said Sporting Director Mindaugas Nikoličius.”
Note the use of ‘for now’ – that could be one to watch.
In the case of both players, but particularly Barisic the line from Ibrox is that no bids have been received. The feeling on the outside is that there could be change in that regard over the next two to three weeks.