Barisic will go from Ibrox.
The news that the Rangers’ attempt to replace one of their stars is now in ruins has dealt them a serious blow.
Borna Barisic has been a longtime employee at Ibrox, but it looks like his days with the Rangers are numbered. The Croatian defender will be a free agent at the end of the current campaign because his contract expires this summer and he hasn’t signed new terms with the team he has played for the last six seasons.
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.
It is evident that the team is getting ready to play without their dependable left-back. Yilmaz is also unlikely to play at Ibrox the next season, thus the Gers were already intending to sign a left-back but were searching for creative methods to get a deal done at a low cost.
But that optimism has now been dashed.
The club Gers is aiming for has already been selected.
Gjis Smal, a left back for FC Twente who will see his contract expire this summer, was one of the replacements that were reportedly named.
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.
