Rangers played Borna Barisic masterclass


Glasgow Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson attempted to improve Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox by dipping into the market during the summer transfer window.

John Souttar, Malik Tillman, Ridvan Yilmaz, Rabbi Matondo, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, and Ben Davies all came through the door, whilst Joe Aribo, Leon Balogun, and Calvin Bassey left for pastures new.

Colak has been an instant success in Scotland and has taken over from Alfredo Morelos as the starting centre-forward, scoring nine goals in his first 13 appearances for the club.

Not all of their signings have been as successful as the Croatia international, though, as Yilmaz has endured a slow start to life in Glasgow. The Light Blues reportedly paid an initial fee of £3.4m to Besiktas to sign the defender and he has only played 176 minutes in all competitions, featuring in three matches since making the move.

His arrival at Rangers has seemingly pushed Borna Barisic, who former Gers winger Neil McCann previously claimed on BBC Sport coverage is “like a train” in attack, to raise his own levels as the left-back has been in phenomenal form in the Premiership this season.

Has Barisic been a fantastic signing?

Yes

No

No

The 29-year-old has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.44 – placing him second in the squad – in the Scottish top-flight across seven appearances, creating four ‘big chances’ for his teammates and making 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game.

Only James Tavernier (7.71) has averaged a higher rating for the Gers and this suggests that he has been one of van Bronckhorst’s top performers in 2022/23.

His current form is further evidence that Steven Gerrard played a masterclass by snapping him up from NK Osijek in the summer of 2018 for just £2.2m as the former manager plucked him from obscurity, and he has gone on to enjoy a sublime career in Scotland.

The flying full-back has racked up 168 appearances in all competitions for the Gers in just over four years at the club, scoring seven goals and providing a whopping 38 assists from defence – winning a Premiership title and the SFA Cup in that time.

In the 2020/21 title-winning campaign, Barisic averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.40 across 33 outings in the division – ranking second in the squad – and made a big impact at the top end of the pitch as he created nine ‘big chances’ and delivered 2.2 key passes per match.

Transfermarkt values him at £5.4m at the time of writing, and this means that his valuation has soared by a mighty 145% since arriving at Ibrox.

Therefore, Gerrard certainly struck gold by signing Barisic as the Croatian has enjoyed an excellent career with Rangers, raising his value over the years. He remains a key player in the present, and with two years left on his contract. he has plenty more time left for him to add to his legacy.





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