One of Steven Gerrard’s new signing, Borna Barisic has featured so far in four games this season, and he has already provided three assists. The signing of this left back for £2m can turn out to be one of the best moves Gerrard has made since he took over the top job at the Ibrox. Barisic was even called for the national team duty, and that is indeed a significant achievement given the exploits the Croatian team had at the World Cup in Russia.
Rangers took on Osijek in the Europa League qualifiers where Barisic was their captain. He even managed to get on the scoresheet against the Gers and Gerrard soon signed him up. The left-back started the international encounter against Portugal recently and held his own against the likes of Adrien Silva and Bernardo Silva who play for the likes of AC Milan and Manchester City respectively.
Even in his first derby, the fullback gave a good account of himself. Though his crossing was a bit wayward in the game, his defensive work was top class. The player can establish himself as one of the regulars and fan favourites at the club if he keeps on working hard and improving.
We often see nowadays that fullbacks pay more attention towards their attacking outlet of the game and there is nothing wrong in that as the manager demands more from their fullback on the attacking front. However, Barisic is a proper defender first, and when he gets an opportunity, he pushes himself forward in the attacking areas of the pitch. The left-back has the potential to play in the top five leagues of the world in the future, and Gerrard has a top talent at his disposal in the form of the 25-year-old.
Jon Flanagan has often filled in the role of the left-back this season, but we think Barisic should be given a start in that position without any question from here onwards. Now that he can represent the Gers in the Europa League after being cup-tied earlier, Gerrard would be hopeful of a big performance from him when he takes on Villareal away from home in their first game in a European competition after eight years.
He is still not at his best at the Ibrox, and the more he plays, the better he would get. If he continues to improve, there would be some major European clubs who could come in for his signature, and we believe the Gers can make a significant profit on him when the time is right to sell him. Till then, The Gers should thank their stars for pulling off this massive bargain in the summer and should expect the Croatia full-back to shine throughout the season.
