Rangers have been handed a hefty blow as it has emerged that their succession plan for one of their stars now lies in ruins.
Barisic set to leave Ibrox
Though a longtime servant at Ibrox, it appears that Borna Barisic’s time with Rangers is coming to an end. The Croatian defender is out of contract this summer and is yet to pen fresh terms at the club he has spent the last six seasons with, meaning that he will be a free agent come the end of the season.
He has appeared only 15 times in the Scottish Premiership this season and racked up just over 1000 minutes in the competition, far less than the 2500 he managed last campaign. Indeed, he has fallen down Philippe Clement’s pecking order, with Ridvan Yilmaz often preferred to the 31-year-old, but he too has been linked with an exit.
Though it has been a successful campaign to date for the Ibrox outfit, it has been far less impressive for Barisic, who has spent much of that season among the substitutes.
Related
Rangers have an exciting young Barisic replacement waiting for a chance
Rangers may have an ideal Barisic replacement already at the club
It seems clear that the club are preparing for life without their longtime left-back, and with Yilmaz also not certain to be at Ibrox next season, the Gers were already planning to recruit another left back, but were looking for ways to outsmart the market to get a deal done cheaply.
However, that hope has just been scuppered.
Gers target has already chosen his next club
One of the reported replacements was FC Twente left-back Gjis Smal, who is set to be out of contract with the Dutch side this summer.
This would have allowed Rangers to pounce and sign the 26 year old on a free transfer, allowing them to keep their financial muscle for other deals in the transfer market. They had been interested in the Dutchman in January, but ultimately opted to wait rather than splash out to sign him.
How Smal compares to current Rangers options (23/24) | |||
Borna Barisic | Ridvan Yilmaz | Gjis Smal | |
Appearances | 20 | 24 | 17 |
Goals | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Assists | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Tackles + interceptions (per 90 mins) | 3 | 1.95 | 2.55 |
Progressive passes (per 90 mins) | 4.2 | N/A | 6.9 |
As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Smal has already agreed a move away from Twente this summer, but he isn’t headed to Ibrox.
Instead, he has opted to stay in the Netherlands, where he will sign for Feyenoord. Though no official confirmation has been given, Romano has taken to X to explain that there is a “verbal pact in place” and that the agreement for him to join as a free agent is “almost done” after Smal “turned down a proposal from abroad”, which could well be from Ibrox.
The news will come as a blow to Clement, who will now have to return to the drawing board in search of a left back or make a belated offer for Barisic to stay.
