Former reported Rangers target Adrian Grbic is starring on international duty with Austria, netting in back-to-back wins over Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.
Sky Sports were one of a number of outlets to link Rangers and Celtic with interest in Grbic over the summer, following his 17-goal campaign for Ligue 2 club, Clermont Foot.
It May, it was claimed by Le Télégramme via GFFN that Clermont were looking for a fee in the region of €10 million (£9m) to sell their star man. Yet, despite their initial interest, neither Old Firm club stumped up the cash.
The Gers then turned their attention elsewhere, bringing in Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht and Cedric Itten from St Gallen, while Grbic stayed in France, joining FC Lorient on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old scored twice in his opening three matches for his new club but had gone seven games without a goal prior to the current block of international fixtures.
However, he’s rediscovered his form in action for Austria over the past week, showing off the finishing ability that alerted the Gers ahead of the summer window.
Grbic scored his side’s second goal in a 3-0 friendly win over Luxembourg on Wednesday night, smashing a finish into the top left corner after being afforded space in the box. Then, just four days later, he delivered a hammer blow to Northern Ireland in Vienna.
The visitors led the contest with 10 minutes remaining, but Rangers star Steven Davis couldn’t prevent a Grbic-inspired turnaround.
The striker assisted an 81st-minute Louis Schaub equaliser, before sweeping a first-time finish into the bottom left corner to snatch all three points at the death, after being played in by Marko Arnautovic.
Grbic’s stock continues to rise but at this point, it’s unlikely that Steven Gerrard will rue not bringing him to Rangers.
The Austrian marksman would likely have cost more than Roofe and Itten combined and with the Gers netting 11 goals in their final two fixtures before the international break, there’s no shortage of firepower at Ibrox.