In a bit of a surprise Rangers transfer twist, the Premier League’s Nottingham Forest are interested in left-back Borna Barisic, with a £2M bid being prepared on the City Ground table at the moment for the Croat’s signature.
Barisic is not thought to be critical to Michael Beale’s Rangers Revolution, and the club would be open to the sale if the right amount comes in, but the board wants more than the £2M that Forest want to offer.
There was of course that ‘derisory’ £1.5M bid from Watford some seasons ago, which was dismissed out of hand, and heavily criticised, but this is a new era and Barisic is more expendable now than he was – the Croat is thought to be interested in the move, something he wasn’t sure he’d get at this point in his career.
Aged 30, the Croatia international has good stock in England, and Rangers are set to deploy Ridvan Yilmaz as number one choice in that position this season, with Barisic reduced to more of a bench role, and that might not suit the ex-Osijek star.
So a good bid, with Rangers seeking around £5M for the defender, would be enough to persuade the club to part with him – Rangers get an extra £5M for the transfer window, and Barisic gets a big move to the Premier League.
Obviously, the big Ross Wilson connection is a factor here – the ex-Rangers Director of Football wants Barisic in Nottingham, and sees him as a very useful addition for his new(ish) club, so that reconnecting might appeal with the Croat as well, given he’s essentially being head hunted.
We’d be ok with this sale, Barisic is not case-critical to Rangers and we’re pretty happy with Ridvan now.
This is very much a developing story, and we’ll see if the Croat swaps Ibrox for the Premier League in the coming days and weeks.