It will be a big rebuild for Rangers in the summer so the last thing that Nils Koppena nd Kevin Thelwell will want to do is gamble with the budget.
There are three key positions that need to be addressed with, perhaps, the most important being the centre of defence.
The drop in standard from Filip Helander (at his best) and Connor Goldson, especially in the title winning season, has been alarming.
In terms of low-risk signings, players who have experience of the SPFL, international football, playing in Europe and of playing with Rangers must be near the top of the list with one former Ibrox fans’ favourite back on the market.
After suffering a painful last day relegation with Plymouth Argyle, Nikola Katic is set to return to FC Zurich where his future is uncertain.
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Nikola Katic deal ends months after links to Rangers return
Katic was linked with a return in January and has hit the headlines in his short loan spell on the south coast, in particular, his man of the match display against Liverpool to knock the Premier League champions out of the FA Cup.
It was the sort of defensive masterclass that has been missing in Rangers rearguard for some time.
The Bosnia international might still be limited in possession, however, Robin Propper is good with the ball at his feet and who would you rather have at the back?
Katic wants to return to Rangers of this he has made no secret, with one specific character trait exactly what is needed to restore some steel to a defence that has looked decidedly flaky.
The unseen quality that makes Katic an instant Rangers upgrade
Plymouth boss, Miron Muslic, is a huge fan of Katic and the impact that he made with his recent determination to play through the pain barrier a far cry from seeing Propper (and Leon Balogun) being replaced repeatedly throughout a painful season:
“It’s never easy, especially when the season is about to end and the loan players know exactly ‘I will return back to my home club and I will return back to the roots’, so they can lose a little bit of spirit,” reported the BBC.
“But that’s exactly the opposite because Nikola, that’s an international football player, he’s a national player for Bosnia.
“He can also now use the next two-and-a-half to three weeks to completely recover, to completely heal, but he pushed us almost for this game against Middlesbrough.
“That’s why all the data is perfect, all the analysis is perfect, that’s why you need to do a character check before you sign players. I knew in January this is the right player for us.”
Despite his best efforts, Katic wasn’t quite able to keep Plymouth in the Championship.
Character. Something the current Rangers defence is sadly lacking, but something that Katic has in spades.
