Given Turkish outfit Trabzonspor have sacked manager Nenad Bjelica we’re raising our eyebrows over those links suggesting he might become the next manager of Rangers.
The Croatian manager, 52, has officially been relieved of his duties at the Turkish Super Lig side following the weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Adana Dermirspor.
The result left Trabzonspor and Nenad Bjelica in 7th place in the Turkish top flight table and the club have taken the international break to act.
A statement on the Trabzonspor website reads:
“The coach contract between our club and our coach Nenad Bjelica, with an expiration date of May 31, 2025, has been mutually terminated.”
Trabzonspor sacking raises Nenad Bjelica Rangers doubts
Where Rangers come into the equation is via a report in TEAMtalk which claims that Nenad Bjelica had made an 11th hour bid to be considered for the Ibrox job.
It comes with Rangers believed to be in the final stages of their hunt for a new manager with the Croatian boss a late addition to the potential managerial stakes.
Whilst that report does mention the fact Trabzonspor sacked Nenad Bjelica, the story appeared after the manager spontaneously joined bookmaker’s betting markets and spawned numerous headlines as a result.
Whilst we have no information at this stage, and we’ve no reason to disbelieve the report, it would certainly be a strange appointment to move for the manager after he’s just been sacked by a club and Nenad Bjelica‘s interest will likely remain just that.
According to the Breaking News Network, Trabzonspor could also wind up having to pay somewhere in the region of £10m (€12m) to sack the coach and his team.
They claim that the former Rapid Wien and Dinamo Zagreb manager was the highest paid manager in the Turkish Super Lig and given the finances involved it multiplies the risk for Rangers.
With the club believed to be coming to a final conclusion in discussions over a new manager, it appears that Philippe Clement and Kevin Muscat remain the frontrunners.
