Antonio Colak will arrive in Italy for a medical today as the Rangers striker closes in on a potential £2.5 million move to Serie B outfit Parma.
Departing Ibrox already, casual observers may be rushing to label the Croatia international something of a ‘flop’. But, while Rangers will not stand in his way as a player who only arrived 12 months ago closes in on a move to Italy, things are not quite that simple.
Antonio Colak, after all, scored 18 goals during his one – and only – season in Scotland. No one in Mick Beale’s squad hit the back of the net more often than him in 2022/23.
Colak’s departure, then, is not due to his performances, but instead his suitability. Beale wants a striker offering more out of possession than Colak is capable of providing; the well-travelled poacher lacking the athleticism or the line-leading tenacity Beale tends to demand from his first-choice number nine.
Cyriel Dessers – a lethal finisher and a relentless hard-worker who prides himself on his off-the-ball work – feels far better suited to Beale’s system.
Antonio Colak is leaving Rangers for Parma
Colak, meanwhile, will soon be adding another stamp to his passport; a striker who has played in Germany, Greece, Sweden, Scotland, Poland and Croatia now on his way to Emilia Romagna for a fee in the region of £2.5 million (Daily Record).
According to Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb, Colak should sign a three-year deal at Parma. One worth £12,000-a-week, after tax.
Colak will arrive at around lunchtime today before undergoing medical tests, and will be expected to fire Parma back into Serie A after the sleeping giants finished just outside the promotion places in the second-tier during 2022/23.
It remains to be seen if Dessers – a £4.3 million arrival from Parma’s Serie B rivals Cremonese – now inherits the ‘number nine’ shirt Colak is set to vacate.
“I think I can offer more than goals,” Dessers tells the Rangers website. “I can be important off the ball; in pressing the other team, recovering balls high up the pitch, and then relaunching a counter-attack.
“I can play with my back to the goal, play short combinations and I can go deep. I’m best when I am facing the goal. So I think those are the various attributes that can benefit the team.
“I really like the group of players that are here. The manager has a really good idea of what he wants on and off the pitch, and it is fundamental for me. That is why I made the choice.”
