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Negotiations underway: “Outstanding” Rangers player edging closer

Published

6 months ago

March 13, 2024

Rangers defender Borna Barisic is now edging closer to a summer exit from Ibrox, with negotiations believed to be underway with a European club.

Rangers possible incomings and outgoings this summer

The Gers may be focusing on possibly winning four trophies this season – the Scottish League Cup is already in the bag – but that doesn’t mean that constant focus isn’t also on the club’s transfer situation.

Both incoming and outgoings are expected at Rangers once the season comes to an end, and the Scottish Premiership outfit have been linked with plenty of new signings of late. One player who has been backed to seal a move to Ibrox is Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland, with Frank McAvennie admitting he can see a deal going through to sign the boyhood Gers supporter:

“No disrespect to Hearts, but if an offer comes in from Rangers, Shankland will go there, that’s what I’ve been told by my sources. He’s a Rangers supporter, even though he’s comfortable at Hearts.”

Permanent moves are potentially in the offing for pair Abdallah Sima and Fabio Silva, too, with their respective parent clubs Brighton and Wolves seemingly willing to sell them for good if the right offers come along.

That’s not to say that other current Rangers players won’t move on to pastures new, however, with the likes of Barisic, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe all out of contract at the end of the campaign, among others.

Barisic edges nearer to Rangers exit

According to Sports Digitale [via Sport Witness], Barisic has “started negotiations” with Trabzonspor over a summer move to the club. The left-back was linked with a switch away during the January transfer window but ended up staying put.

His agent is expected to “arrive” in Turkey in the “coming days”, in order to discuss the business, with Barisic departing on a free transfer when his contract expires. The same report also cites an update from Sabah, who claim that a deal is now “very close” to being agreed, with further progress expected imminently.

Barisic has been an impressive servant for Rangers since arriving from Osijek back in 2018, racking up a total of 230 appearances for the Scottish giants. He has also been hailed by former manager Steven Gerrard in the past, who said of him:

“Borna was outstanding last night, he is the Croatian left-back and he is used to these high-pressure games. “He is very highly respected by the staff and in the dressing room.”

Borna Barisic’s Rangers stats	Total
Appearances	230
Goals	54
Assists	10
Scottish Premiership wins	1
Scottish Cup wins	1
Scottish League Cup wins	1

At 31 years of age, Barisic arguably no longer represents a long-term option for Rangers, however, so the idea of suddenly giving him a shiny new contract doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially as he is among the top earners at Ibrox, taking home a reported £21,000 per week currently.

A move to Trabzonspor could make sense for all parties, allowing the 35-cap Croatian currently one big more challenge in Europe, potentially seeing out the rest of his career in Turkey.