According to reports in Serbia, Rangers are looking to sign Red Star Belgrade playmaker Mirko Ivanic and the Serbian SuperLiga club might be forced to sell the player.
Rangers have been on the lookout for attacking players in this transfer window. The Gers have so far signed a few players, but might need more to compete with their arch-rivals Celtic, who are having a superb transfer window.
Steven Gerrard’s team themselves are in a tricky situation as their talisman and lead striker Alfredo Morelos has been heavily linked with a move away from Ibrox. Nevertheless, despite all the speculation and rumours, the player is still at the club.
This has not faded Steven Gerrard’s vision for the summer recruitment. Rangers are on the look-out for a quality playmaker who will have plenty of goal involvements and they have identified Mirko Ivanic as the prime candidate to fill in that position.
According to Belgrade based news outlet Mozzartsport (via Glasgow Live), Rangers have already submitted a €3.5m (£3m) bid for Mirko Ivanic. The report states that the Serbian club are holding out for a fee of around €4m for the midfielder.
Previously, Red Star Belgrade were standing firm on their stance to not sell their star player, but a lot has changed since the club failed to qualify for the Champions League. Now, according to Mondo (via HITC), they may be forced to sell their talisman to make up for their financial woes.
The club are in desperate need of financial assistance and are now considering selling out a couple of their star players before the summer transfer window shuts to emerge out of this predicament. They have already sold winger Zeljko Gavric to Ferencvaros and it is understood that Ranger’s bid of €3.5m might tempt them to let go of Mirko Ivanic.
Mirko Ivanic vs AC Milan 25/2/2021 (San Siro) pic.twitter.com/Iu6z38Iydd
— idegas (@TheSpiritOf_99) February 26, 2021
The attacking midfielder had a great outing last season, scoring 20 goals and bagging 16 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions and helping Red Star Belgrade win both the Serbian SuperLiga and Serbian Cup in 2020/21. However, the question arises that do Rangers need another midfielder, having already signed Juninho Bacuna less than two weeks ago.
Despite being well backed up in the middle of the park, Gerrard would certainly welcome the Montenergro international, who has a sharp eye for goals and assists and would help make their attack more lethal. Rangers, who themselves have failed to qualify for the Champions League, will now focus on the Europa League and the Scottish Premiership.
With their arch-rivals Celtic being very much active in the transfer market, the Gers will have to come up with a plan if they are to reclaim the top spot in the Premiership and advance further in the Europa League. It will be interesting to see what the Ibrox club have planned before the deadline day.
To be fair, Mirko Ivanic would certainly be an upgrade to the current Rangers squad and there is no reason to state that the player could not flourish under the management of Steven Gerrard. At Ibrox, a player of his calibre would be aiming for silverware and success, which is the very idea and thought of the club itself.
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