Rangers have been linked to Red Star Belgrade winger and Montenegrin international Mirko Ivanic but early talk of a move may be scuppered by a new deal.
The Serbian club joined Rangers in going their domestic league season unbeaten during the last campaign with Ivanic, 27, a stand-out performer for the side.
The attacking midfielder or forward scored 20 goals and laid on 16 assists in 48 games in all competitions, with his 16 goals in the Serbian Super League helping his side to 108 points.
Ivanic has started this season on similar form with four goals and one assist in nine games this season.
This includes the fourth and final goal in Red Star’s 4-0 Europa League Playoff win over CFR Cluj this week.
Serbian outlet Mozzart Sport reported yesterday that the Gers had submitted a €3.5m (£3m) offer for the player with the bid said to be tempting due to Red Star’s Champions League status.
Similarly to Rangers, the Serbian side missed out on the competition’s group stages by crashing out at the third round of qualifying, with Red Star dumped by Sheriff Tiraspol.
However, according to reports coming out of Serbia and seemingly originating from in the know Red Star insiders, any prospective deal could be short-lived with the player set to be offered a new deal.
Reports from the likes of Sportska Centrala and Meridan claim that “the club wants to keep Ivanic at all costs, offering him a new contract”.
We’ll take that with a pinch of salt for now but it’s clear Mirko Ivanic is an important player for the Belgrade club and we imagine they’ll be desperate to keep him around.
Meanwhile, an 18-month transfer saga has finally come to an end as a Rangers deal in struck with a European club.
