The Rangers have a few weeks left.
After Gers suffered a painful campaign last time, new manager Russell Martin has a lot of work to do to get the Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League Celtic.
Martin’s first competitive match was just four weeks away, welcomed Panathinaikos to Ibrox in the second round of the Champions League qualifying match, while Light Blues will begin the Premier League campaign against Motherwell on August 2 at Fir Park.
Before that, the club is expected to make countless new signings, so will they strengthen their backline?
Rangers aiming for new centre-backs
According to Hrvoje Tironi’s report at Croatian Outlet 24 Sata, the wanderers are “very interested” in signing Osijek Defender Luka Jelenić, facing a contest in Portuguese clothing Vitóriarive Guimarães.
They added that Jelenić joined Osijek from Varaždin for 800,000 euros (about £685,000) a year, but despite his team having many “quality” performances in Prva HNL last year, the “reliable centre-back” is likely to be sold for “serious money” but his team is sold for seventh in seventh place.
The Rangers need central defensive reinforcements, especially with free agent Aris Limassol, who confirmed on Friday to leave the club, who can be familiar with Cyprus, namely Connor Goldson, a face he knows next season.
So, can Jelenić prove to be a shrewd addition?
How Jelini improves rangers
Rangers are very interested in free transfers this summer because the British had worked with Martin at MK Dons and Swansea, but he chose to join Norwich City and Liam Manning instead for the tournament,
This seemed to increase their interest in Jelinic, thus returning to a familiar source of talent after they failed to convince the current star of the Age to move to Ibrox.
Back in July 2018, Steven Gerrard’s side ditched NK Osijek for Europa League qualifiers, while Alfredo Morelos was the only scorer for Stadion Gradski VRT, and then saw their improvements a week later with a 1-1 average in Glasgow.
Gerrard was so impressed by the white and blue that he quickly signed two players.
The less the statement about Grezda, Iowa, but the £2.2 million paid to secure Borna Barišić’s signature is reportedly a definite bargain as he will make 236 appearances in the light blue jersey, winning all three domestic trophies and winning all three domestic trophies and becoming a key figure in the 2022222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222.
So, can Jelenić have a similar impact?
Well, let’s evaluate his stats from this season’s Prva HNL.
LukaJelenić2024/25PRVA HNL Statistics |
||
---|---|---|
Statistics |
Jelinic |
Prva HNL Level |
minute |
2,532 |
Chapter 32 |
Intercept |
50 |
First |
Tackle |
58 |
twelfth |
gap |
144 |
seventh |
Passing accuracy % |
86.74% |
9th |
Pass completed |
1,204 |
tenth |
Statistics provided by fbref.com and sofascore |
As the table outlines, despite a slightly limited time, Jelenić ranks high on every defensive metric and also by accuracy, which shows that he is a comprehensive defender who is good at reading games for interceptions.
For comparison, Darling ranked 233rd (31) and 130th (25th) in the EFL Championship for tackle while recording 87.8% pass accuracy, which is only higher than Jelenić’s figures, suggesting that the Croatian star can provide more teams to the team from a defensive perspective.
Jacek Kulig of the Football Scouts marked him “crazy talent” while writer Kai Watson outlines how Jelenić physically imposes on people at a height of 6-foot-2 and has a “strong” defensive ability, while also having good possessions.
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Molero highlights how he is “hard to beat” in defensive duels and rarely makes mistakes.
So while the top targets that went elsewhere Dear Dear is more like a known number, Jelini is undoubtedly a young defender with great potential, so it would be a great business if the Rangers were able to bring him on their team.
Related
He’ll be better than dear: Wanderers openly negotiate to sign “perfect” star
After missing out on signing Harry Darling, Rangers have taken a way to attract new defenders.
Source link