According to the latest reports from the Daily Record, Rangers are keeping track of £3m rated striker Mirko Maric. The forward currently plies his trade in the Croatian league for NK Osijek. It is being said that his impressive form this season is the reason Mark Allen is getting the player scouted.
This is not the first time that Rangers are raiding a player from Osijek as Borna Barisic and Eros Grezda were brought in last summer. It is believed that Maric is connected with the same agency as Grezda and Rangers have built a strong relationship with them in the past year.
Why do Rangers need to go after a striker?
The Bears are likely to come up short in the title race, and we can expect some important business being done by the club in the summer. Alfredo Morelos is expected to attract attention in the next few months, and Gerrard could be tempted to sell him if the price is right. Kyle Lafferty has recently fallen out of favour as the manager is unhappy with his commitment and desire to play for Rangers. Therefore Rangers might be left with just Jermain Defoe for the next season.
So we expect Gerrard and Mark Allen to solve this problem and Maric has emerged as a strong candidate for that. The striker has managed 16 goals and six assists in all competitions this season, and that is the reason why the Gers are keeping track of him. At 23, Maric is already a two-time Croatian international as well.
Is he good enough for Rangers?
It’s tough to answer that at the moment as Rangers haven’t found much success by signing players from Osijek. Both Barisic and Grezda have struggled, and Gerrard has called them out publicly for not showing enough desire and commitment to play for Rangers.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean that Maric would turn out the same, but Gerrard would think twice before splashing £3m on him. The forward has decent all-around attributes as a striker as he can hold up play well and he also looks to make runs in between the defence lines.
Maric has decent link-up qualities as well as he has consistently racked up assists in his career. However, it would be interesting to see how the forward would settle in at the club. Given his young age, he might be worth a punt after he had an impressive season this campaign.
