Since the turn of the year, Rangers boss Philippe Clement has spoken on a number of occasions about the value of a ‘bigger squad’.
Back in April, he felt that the mid-season additions of Fabio Silva, Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes had contributed heavily to a run of 10 wins from 11 Scottish Premiership fixtures, adding more ‘balance’ to the roster while raising the competition for a starting place, via the club’s official website.
It’s an approach Rangers appear to be sticking with.
We’ve only just reached mid-July and, already, the number of summer signings at Ibrox stands at six. More are expected to follow too, Rangers looking at further additions seemingly up front, on the left wing and in central midfield amid new links with Motherwell duo Theo Bair and Lennon Miller amongst others.
Clement’s view on the benefit of of a bigger, more balanced squad is one shared, meanwhile, by Trabzonspor’s own head coach.
Abdullah Avci now has John Lundstram and Borna Barisic in his ranks, the duo arriving on free transfers after their Gers contracts ran out. He feels that Trabzonspor can only benefit from the extra competition that Lundstram and Barisic will provide, particularly the latter.
Borna Barisic and John Lundstram swap Rangers for Turkey
“We are happy with Eren’s performance but, with Barisic’s arrival, the competition has become better,” Avci tells BeIN Sports, expiring the latter to push fellow left-back Eren Elmali on in the coming season. “In other words, it is gearing up.
“The camp environment I have enjoyed the most recently is right now. It is a very enjoyable (training) camp for me right now. It is a group with good energy.”
Barisic, by his own admission, made an ‘easy decision’ to head to Turkey when Trabzonspor came calling. He admits to holding talks with his fellow Croatians Mislav Orsic and Filip Benkovic, the duo convincing him to sign on the dotted line.
“Borna came. Orsic is his old teammate. They all sit together. Everyone has a connection with each other from before,” Avci adds, predicting that Trabzonspor could play 55 competitive games in 2024/25 and therefore need all the bodies they can get.
“Competition is beautiful. This keeps every player ready and gives them a chance to play.
“Competition is good. You can make rotations much more easily. You can reduce the risk of injury. It is not easy to play 3 matches a week.”
Barisic joined Rangers in a £2 million deal from NK Osijek all the way back in 2018.
The long-serving left-back’s departure removes some potentially invaluable experience from Clement’s squad, though Rangers now have the youthful exuberance of Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte Vital battling it out for a starting spot on the left.
Jefte, Clement feels, should be able to challenge for a first-team place ‘faster’ than the likes of Hamza Igamane and Clinton Nsiala after playing a full season of football in Europe during a loan spell at Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus.
Barisic already loving life at Trabzonspor
“I adapted very quickly,” Barisic tells Sozcu when asked to sum up his start to life in Turkey. “Orsic, Visca, Bardhi have contributed greatly to the adaptation process. Not only them, but all my friends. People in the departments helped.
“From the first day in Trabzon everyone was very helpful. Whether it was welcoming me, finding a house, or other assistance.”
Barisic made himself a key player over six years in Glasgow due to his pinpoint deliveries from out wide. Those very same attributes should come in handy at Trabzonspor too.
“Of course, our priority is defence. But modern football expects us to contribute to the attack with assists and goals,” Barisic explains. “We talked with our coach. He has expectations from full-backs. I have adapted as well and I am trying to fulfil my coach’s expectations and requests on the field and contribute to the attack.
I am a player who contributes to the team with assists and goals and helps the players ahead. My adaptation will get better day by day.”
