Ibrox View: Reported £9m asking price for mooted Rangers target Grbic seems like fair deal
RANGERS OPINION
For a while now, the prospect of Rangers having to sign a new striker this summer has been a very real possibility.
Alfredo Morelos is consistently linked with an exit, with St. Etienne and Atletico Madrid emerging as the latest in a long line of reported suitors for the Colombian.
And if he does go, a replacement will surely become a top priority for Steven Gerrard when the transfer window opens.
One man who has already been touted as a potential target is 23-year-old Austrian Adrian Grbic, as per TEAMtalk.
The hitman, who currently plies his trade French Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot, has scored 17 goals in 26 league appearances this term, and certainly looks like an exciting prospect.
And now a fresh report from French outlet MaLigue2 has given an update on his potential availability this summer, claiming that a fee of around £9 million would be enough to secure his services.
But would he be worth that kind of outlay?
Well, his stats this term are exciting to say the least.
The rangy forward has scored 0.63 goals per game from an xG of just 0.37 – meaning that he scores 0.23 goals per game more than he is expected to, as per Wyscout.
By comparison, Morelos has scored 0.73 goals per game from an xG of 0.72 – giving him a surplus of just 0.01 every 90 minutes.
Grbic has also won an average of 7.25 aerial duels per game this season, suggesting that he is a much more physical presence than Morelos, who has won just 3.72.
Here at Ibrox News, we have already examined his in game style of play in a fair amount of depth too, and while it’s fair to say that he is a different type of player to Morelos, his natural finishing ability suggests that he has the potential to be just as lethal.
£9 million is a considerable amount, but Morelos’ sale would surely more than cover it, and if the Gers are serious about usurping Celtic next term, this is the kind of deal they have to be looking to complete.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox Exclusive: Alex Bruce calls failed Gers demand for SPFL probe a ‘waste of time’.