Nikola Katic reacts to James Sands being handed his Rangers shirt number
Nikola Katic has wiped his Instagram account following Rangers’ new signing James Sands taking his number 19 shirt, potentiallu putting his future at the club in doubt.
The centre-back is currently on loan at Hajduk Split in his home country of Crotia and his temporarily-vacated squad number has been given to yesterday’s arrival from New York City FC, apparently leading to a removal of all traces of the club from his social media account.
Having missed over a year of action with a knee problem, the 25-year-old has managed to get some first team action under his belt during the loan and was recently reported to be ‘hopeful’ over his future at Ibrox, but this now looks unlikely.
The Daily Record have reported a source close to the player saying: “Ask yourself this. Would you happy if you were in his shoes?”
Forgotten man?
A combination of factors would appear to suggest that Katic’s time in Glasgow is coming to an end.
When he made his loan move then-manager Steven Gerrard was quoted as saying: “In terms of people saying his future is done here, that is wide of the mark.”
But with the former-Liverpool captain now in charge at Aston Villa and new boss Giovanni Van Bronckhorst looking to establish his own team identity, Katic not being around to make an impression will likely make future prospects slimmer.
Already Rangers have opted not to recall the Croatian this month, and with reported interest in Hearts defender John Souttar [Glasgow Evening Times] it suggests the manager has other plans for his defence.
When a player’s squad number is given to a teammate while they are still contracted to the club it does not suggest they are in the manager’s thoughts but it is not impossible return with a new number and be a success.
A strong second half of the season in Croatia could force Katic into the minds of the Rangers decision makers after so long without featuring for the club, but whether Katic himself still wants that looks to be in question.
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