Philippe Clement needs Rangers crunch talks with Borna Barisic as Ibrox exit agreed already
As the football season nears its end, and the summer transfer window looms, there is no doubt that Rangers stars will begin to be linked with moves away from Ibrox.
Philippe Clement already has a case of this, with Borna Barisic having already given the green light on a free transfer to Trabzonspor as soon as the summer transfer window opens. [Fanatik]
With the full-back about to run out his contract at Ibrox, there is no love lost between the club and player, but Clement must ensure that his defender is focused as Rangers reach a critical point in the campaign.
Borna Barisic must reassure Philippe Clement at Rangers
The Gers are on the verge of making history in the Scottish Premiership, with the chance to lift their second league title in the last decade after eating up a lot of ground on their Old Firm rivals in the table.
During the Michael Beale reign at Ibrox, all hope of battling the Hoops for the league title looked lost, but the Belgian has done an incredible job since arriving in October, turning things around.
And despite Ridvan Yilmaz cementing himself as Clement’s first-choice left-back, talks need to be held with Barisic to ensure that his mind is not focused on anything but Rangers’ season run-in after agreeing his next destination.
The Croatian has started 13 of Rangers’ 29 league matches and has been an important replacement when Yilmaz has needed a rest. But it would be easy to lose focus with limited game time for any player.
After the Gers’ match against Dundee FC on Sunday 17 March was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, Celtic took full advantage and retook the top spot in the Scottish Premiership.
With only a handful of matches remaining, it is important that all of Clement’s players are fully focused, with the aim of pipping their rivals to the league title.
The Old Firm match on Sunday 7 April can be targeted as a key turning point, and the squad will be keen to improve upon the last meeting, having lost 2-1 at Celtic Park in December.
In other Rangers news, a major shake-up has been mooted by Gers and Celtic after what happened recently in the transfer market.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.