RANGERS PLOT MOVE FOR COLAK 2.0 IN £5.2M MACHINE

Glasgow Rangers have reportedly identified a potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos, amid reports regarding the Old Firm outfit's apparent interest in Rijeka's, Matija Frigan.

What's the latest on Frigan to Rangers?

According to Football Insider, the Light Blues are said to have made an enquiry regarding a possible summer move for the 20-year-old striker, with manager Michael Beale in need of a new centre-forward addition amid Morelos' impending departure.

The report suggests that while the Glasgow giants have not yet submitted a bid for the promising Croatian, the belief is that his current side are set to demand a fee of around £5.2m, with two years left to run on the youngster's existing deal.

The piece does also add that the Gers may have competition in their bid to land the 6 foot 1 ace, however, with Dinamo Zagreb also in the running for his signature - albeit while having had a £3m offer rejected.

Who is Matija Frigan?

The Croatian youth international could well prove to be Rangers' next Antonio Colak, with the latter man - who also turns out for Croatia at international level - having also made his name at Rejika prior to joining the Scottish Premiership side last summer.

After spending his early career plying his trade for a variety of clubs in his native Germany, Colak particularly caught the eye after plundering 51 goals and providing 15 assists in just 90 games for Rejika, having initially joined the club on loan in January 2018.

That prolific form earned the three-cap marksman subsequent moves to Greek outfit PAOK and Swedish giants, Malmo, before being snapped up by Giovanni van Bronckhorst last summer on a £1.8m deal.

While there are reports that new boss Beale could already be looking to move the 29-year-old on after just a solitary season at Ibrox, the £18k-per-week asset did seemingly enjoy a respectable campaign last time out, having netted 18 goals in 39 games in all competitions.

Clearly a clinical presence in front of goal, young Frigan also appears to share that prolific nature having scored 15 goals in only 31 appearances so far this season, with talent scout Jacek Kulig describing him as "another extremely interesting youngster from Croatia".

Also dubbed a "complete forward" by Kulig, the exciting goal machine is also able to offer a creative outlet in attack having created three big chances in the league in 2022/23 as well as averaging 0.6 key passes per game, with Colak also creating three big chances and averaging 0.5 key passes per game from his 25 Premiership appearances.

That would suggest that there is a real likeness between Frigan and the current Gers forward, with the hope being that the younger man can go on to achieve even bigger and better things than his compatriot under Beale next season.

2023-06-02T06:41:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd