Exclusive: Rangers offered chance to sign 'extremely powerful' £2.5m ace, deal won't happen for one key reason
01/17/2025 02:00 AM
Things have gone quiet regarding a potential £2.5 million move to Scottish Premiership giants Rangers for one of the most improved young midfielders in European football.
And there is a pretty good reason for that.
While CEO Patrick Stewart has played down the need for January signings, and with funds tight at Ibrox, even the relatively small fee NK Osijek would demand for the highly-rated Marko Soldo appears to be beyond Rangers’ financial reach.
Rangers News exclusively reported back in December that a move to Rangers was on the cards for the Croatia Under 21 international.
And with Osijek valuing Marko Soldo at around £2.5 million, at the time, this felt like a deal which certainly had legs.
That was, of course, until the extent of Rangers’ financial limitations became clear.
Rangers cannot afford to sign NK Osijek ace Marko Soldo
Speaking to Rangers News five weeks after our initial report, football correspondent Graeme Bailey can confirm that Philippe Clement’s side were indeed offered the chance to secure Soldo’s signature in the winter window.
But with the 21-year-old dynamo simply too expensive at the current moment – unless Rangers were to raise funds by selling a Cyriel Dessers for instance – any negotiations will have to be placed on the backburner.
Then again, that appears to suit Soldo rather well.
Soldo spoke for the first time since being linked with Rangers and La Liga outfit Real Betis this week, to name but two. And the Dinamo Zagreb academy graduate admits that he is no rush to leave an Osijek side for whom he signed a long-term deal only a few months ago.
"All these stories about interest from foreign clubs are just confirmation for me that I have a quality half-season behind me," he tells Glas Slavonije. "I am investing a lot in myself, working hard. [This] is gradually paying off.
"The interest from foreign clubs is just an additional motivation to continue on the path I have taken, primarily when it comes to work. As far as Dinamo is concerned, there is a clause according to which they can bring me back by a certain date [in mid-March] and with compensation, but I am not burdened by that at all.
"I am enjoying Osijek. I have really settled in well. The team, working conditions and environment are excellent so, at the moment, I really have no reason to think about leaving."
Leon Belcar and Carney Chukwuemeka also out of Rangers’ reach
Soldo has blossomed under the stewardship of Federico Coppitelli.
The Osijek coach deserves immense credit for transforming him from a limited, deep-lying midfielder into a highly-effective, box-crashing number eight or number ten.
Marko Soldo is a footballer with an ‘extremely powerful’ physique – both in terms of his 6ft frame and his remarkable athleticism – while career-best tallies of six goals and four assists is testament to just how instinctively he has adapted to his more attack-minded role.
Soldo did leave the door open for a departure from Osijek over the summer. But, again, whether Rangers stand a chance depends on how their monetary position looks when the season comes to a close.
As the days go by, that list of transfer targets is growing smaller and smaller. Leon Belcar snubbed Rangers to stay at NK Varazdin, while Chelsea’s Carney Chukwuemeka is in talks with Borussia Dortmund.
Dundee dynamo Lyall Cameron is perhaps the most likely Rangers addition at this stage – Clement’s team are reportedly leading the chase – but any deal is likely to be struck on a pre-contract arrangement a la Connor Barron.
