Trabzonspor chief drops Rangers transfer update on John Lundstram and Borna Barisic
Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan has hinted that deals for Rangers pair John Lundstram and Borna Barisic are in the “completion stage”.
Lundstram and Barisic are both out of contract at the end of the season and Trabzonspor have been keen to sign both players on free transfers this summer.
The Turkish outfit are recruiting aggressively ahead of the campaign’s conclusion and Dogan recently revealed just how close the club are to landing their targets.
While Dogan did not named the Gers duo by name, Turkish outlet Haber 61 revealed he was talking about Lundstram and Barisic in a quote published by A Spor on Wednesday (8 May), which read: “Three transfers are done. One more transfer is coming to an end.
“We already had three transfers that have recently reached the completion stage.”
Rangers should start planning for life without John Lundstram and Borna Barisic
Barisic’s departure at the end of this season has been widely expected for some time, with the Croatian left-back – now 31 years old – losing his starting spot to Turkish defender Ridvan Yilmaz, nine years his junior.
The versatile Dujon Sterling also appears to be ahead of Barisic in the pecking order and a new deal for the veteran full-back never seemed to be on the cards.
However, head coach Philippe Clement’s heavy reliance on Lundstram at the base of midfield this term – the 30-year-old is the fourth-most used player in the Rangers squad across all competitions, playing 4,281 minutes [Transfermarkt] – is evidence of his desire to retain the Englishman’s services beyond the end of this campaign.
The Belgian has fought to keep hold of Lundstram, who was initially expected to pen fresh terms, but it now seems as though he has made his decision to leave for Turkey, meaning Clement will be forced to dip into the transfer market in search of a replacement.
In other Rangers news, Clement has been tipped to hand Ben Davies a rare start for the Gers’ Old Firm showdown with Celtic
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