Rangers summer target Matija Frigan may have made a mistake joining Belgian outfit KVC Westerlo instead in a £4.7 million deal, according to Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic.
While none of Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, Danilo or Abdallah Sima are yet to live up to lofty expectations in Glasgow, another forward who found himself on Rangers’ radar over the summer has endured a similarly difficult start to life in his new home.
Matija Frigan has scored in each of his final few appearances for KVC Westerlo before the September international break. But his overall tally stands at a measly two in six. Winless Westerlo are also joint-bottom in the Belgian Jupiler League.
And Dalic, shuffling his pack and offering opportunities to the next generation of Croatian talent ahead of 2024’s European Championships, feels one of the country’s brightest up-and-comers may regret nailing his colours to a club who may spend the next few months battling against the drop, rather than one fighting for silverware a la Rangers.
Rangers missed out on Matija Frigan
“In June, we said that we wanted to try a few young attackers in order to prepare for the Euros, if we are going to qualify. The best way is for them to be with us. We will see what they can do when they are in the first-team,” Dalic tells MAX Sport.
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“Frigan had a great season. But maybe he shouldn’t have gone to that club, because he is not at the top of the league. Nor does he constantly play attacking football, which he needs.”
Sunderland wanted the striker too
At Rangers – or an exciting Sunderland outfit chock-full of similarly precocious talent – Frigan would surely have found goalscoring opportunities easier to come by. Dessers, Lammers and Danilo might not have set the world alight under Mick Beale thus far, though that is not down to a lack of ammunition with Todd Cantwell, Borna Barisic, James Tavernier and co serving up plenty of chances in the final third.