American investment at Rangers in the shape of a San Francisco 49ers takeover means the Glasgow giants can head into the summer window with a renewed sense of ambition.
This was always going to be a pretty substantial transfer window for the team sitting 13 points adrift of Celtic even after The Hoops’ shock defeat by St Johnstone on Sunday afternoon.
Rangers have a massive gap to close, and a squad overhaul only partly complete following last year’s mass exodus. Leon Balogun, Tom Lawrence and Ianis Hagi are due to become free-agents and will all need replacing.
So too will Rafael Fernandes and Vaclav Cerny, two loanees sitting at very different ends of the ‘success’ spectrum.
Wolfsburg reportedly want £7 million for Cerny, and new American investors could be key to ensuring the Czech Republic international sticks around. Could the 49ers also provide the financial muscle required to bring in a new right-back, a top centre-forward, an upgrade on Jack Butland between the sticks, and a number of other necessary additions?
Unfortunately, in the case of Marko Soldo, that purported takeover by Paraag Marathe and co looks to have come too late in the day.
Marko Soldo looks set to slip through Rangers’ net
Rangers News exclusively reported back in December that Rangers had scouted Croatia Under-21 ace Marko Soldo while featuring for NK Osijek in his homeland.
Soldo has been labelled an ‘extremely powerful’ midfielder. One who, after transforming from a deep-lying enforcer to a buccaneering box-crasher, was in the midst of a breakout campaign.
Soldo now has seven goals and four assists. Far more than in the previous 51 games of his senior career combined.
However, as Rangers News would learn at the end of the winter window, Rangers simply did not have the funds required in January to meet Osijek’s £2.5 million asking price.
Such a fee may have been relatively short change to the San Francisco 49ers.As it is, once Marathe and co take control at Ibrox, Soldo’s might already have been sealed.
Dinamo Zagreb, where Soldo spent many years as a youth-team player, had until March 31st to trigger the buy-back clause in his contract. A clause that, according to Osijek managing director and board member Vladimir Cohar, they have indeed triggered.
“As previously known, Dinamo had the option to activate the buyout clause for Marko Solda until March 31,” Cohar says. “I can confirm that Dinamo exercised its right under the contract, so further talks are now underway.”
Dinamo Zagreb exercise buy-back clause in Soldo’s Osijek contract
Cohar stopped short of confirming that Soldo – who rose through the ranks of the same academy as Luka Modric, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic – is destined to be a Dinamo Zagreb player next year.
There is still a chance that Dinamo plan to bring Soldo back for just £850,000 – as per the terms stipulated – before selling him on for an immediate profit to Rangers, Celta Vigo or one of his other suitors across Europe.
Glas Slavonije add that, if Osijek receive an offer in excess of one million euros, Dinamo would have to match that new sum.
“At this point, I would not speculate on whether the deal will be completed,” Cohar adds. “The season is entering its final stages, so I believe that now is not the right time to talk about possible future transfers.”
There is a question about whether Rangers even need the Bosnia-born 21-year-old anyway.
Lyall Cameron is arriving at Ibrox from Dundee this summer, and he possesses many of the attributes which alerted Rangers to Soldo in the first place after all.
