Rangers not set to utilise Nikola Katic recall clause in January
Rangers are not set to activate the recall clause to bring Nikola Katic back to Ibrox in the upcoming January transfer window.
That’s according to Football Scotland, who report that the Croatian is set to see out the season on loan at Hadjuk Split.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is now in charge in Glasgow, replacing Steven Gerrard who initiated the loan spell.
With Calvin Bassey snubbed by Nigeria for the African Cup of Nations, it looks as though the Bears are now well covered at the back.
Leon Balogun will be joining up with Joe Aribo for the Super Eagles, but the imminent return of Filip Helander should help with that too.
Hadjuk Split do have the option to purchase Katic for £3million in this current loan deal, so things will get more interesting as the summer nears.
Football Scotland do report that the defender hopes his long-term future is still at Ibrox, something he would need to prove after such a big absence.
Will he get that chance?
A familiar face in the first two years of Gerrard’s spell at Ibrox, it will be intriguing to see how Van Bronckhorst places the defender in his plans.
That is if he does at all, with a strong possibility that the Dutchman goes down his own route with potential new signings at the back.
It is hard to see a way back for Katic, or he wouldn’t have been sent away on loan, he would have been given the chance to fight at Ibrox longer than just pre-season.
£3million would also be very handy for a player who hasn’t been used regularly for longer than a year, and it could be pumped back into the squad.
Katic may be hoping for another chance in Glasgow, but at this moment in time, it looks unlikely as he gets set for another handful of months in Croatia.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner has fired back at Tom English after his latest bitter jibe at the Bears