Rangers are considering a January swoop for highly-rated Croatian midfielder Marko Soldo.
Rangers News exclusively revealed this morning that the club have an interest in the NK Osijek and Croatia under-21s star.
With less than a month to go until the January transfer window opens rumours will continue to spread but we can reveal this is a concrete one Rangers are looking at.
Soldo is well known in his home country after his exploits for his club but probably not so much outwith.
So here is a profile on the player Ibrox chiefs are casting a serious eye over.
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Who is Rangers transfer target Marko Soldo?
Soldo is a 21-year-old central midfielder who plays for NK Osijek and has 10 caps for Croatia under-21s, valued at £2.5million.
Osijek were of course the same side Rangers signed Borna Barisic from.
He only moved there in the summer from Dinamo Zagreb after previously spending loan spells at HNK Sibenik and HNK Gorica.
Soldo has made quite the impression at his new club, so far scoring six goals and adding four assists.
He has mostly been used as a defensive midfielder but can also operate in a more advanced role so would likely be providing competition for Connor Barron, Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande in Phillipe Clement’s side.
He can also play at centre-back in an emergency.
This is already the most productive season of Soldo’s fledgling career with his previous best a return of three goals and an assist for Gorica last season.
Rangers target Soldo profiled
Aspiring scout Kai Watson previously profiled the player and insisted he would be one Dinamo Zagreb would regret letting go.
His findings showed that he ranked in the 93rd percentile for goals Per90 and the 85th percentile for shots Per90 in the Croatian league.
At that point, Soldo was in the top percentile for chances created Per90 and the 96th for assists Per90.
Watson added: “He’s a strong ball carrier that ranks in the 89th percentile in successful dribbles. His touches in the opposition box show that he likes to get forward and two of his three goals have come from inside the box.”
Soldo also ranks well defensively with strong stats for aerial duels won, duels won and tackles won.
These stats chime with the fact he is someone who can either play deeper or further forward.
