Alen Petrovic claims Rangers ace Barisic is ‘ready for the Premier League’
NK Osijek sporting director Alen Petrovic has claimed that Rangers full-back Borna Barisic is “ready for the Premier League”.
The 27-year-old signed for the Gers from Osijek in 2018, and still keeps in touch with Petrovic whenever he returns to his hometown in Croatia.
Following on from an impressive campaign in Glasgow, it is understood that the left-back has been attracting attention from a number of top Italian sides in recent months, as per The Herald.
But Petrovic believes that his former charge is good enough to make the step up to the English top flight.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “I am not surprised that Borna is being linked with a move to Serie A but I would be surprised if English clubs didn’t make an attempt to take him to the Premier League.
“At what level? Well, let me ask – what are the limits of a starter for the Croatian national team? Frankly, there are no limits but it’s the clubs who need to judge.
“Borna is ready to take the next step in his career but I’m speaking now as a fan and a friend and not in my official capacity.
“He’s ready for the Premier League. It would be a big surprise if he ends up in some other league, not least because he is already playing in the United Kingdom.”
Is Barisic ready for a move to England?
Nobody wants to see Barisic leave, that much is assured, but on the basis of what we’ve seen this season, it’s hard to argue with Petrovic.
The full-back has doubled his output in terms of assists, registering 14 to last term’s seven.
And that’s unsurprising given that his dribble success rate has risen from 61.9% to 67.4%, as per Wyscout, and his crossing accuracy has gone up to 37% from 31.9%.
As a point of reference, Liverpool ace Andy Robertson has a dribble success rate of 43.7% and a crossing accuracy of 29.2%.
Barisic certainly has the talent, and could be a real asset for anybody in the top flight – but hopefully we can get him to stick around at Ibrox for a while longer yet.
In other Rangers news, Report – Rangers to play Europa Leg second leg v Bayer Leverkusen at neutral venue.