Fortunately for Rangers, Philippe Clement’s side presumably will not need to part with 15 million euros for one of their January targets.
If that was indeed his market value, after all, then Rangers would clearly be barking up the wrong tree.
Rangers News, instead, have been informed that Rangers may have to pay around £2.5 million to lure Marko Soldo from NK Osijek to Ibrox.
Six years after Rangers took Borna Barisic away from the Opus Arena, the Glasgow giants appear to be returning to a familiar watering hole for a man who, in the words of former Dinamo Zagreb director Zdravko Mamic, can call himself ‘the most promising defensive midfielder in Croatian football’ these days.
Dinamo sold Soldo to Osijek over the summer for a cut-price fee of £330,000.
Mamic, however, feels that Dinamo would could a far larger fee if the 21-year-old was still plying his trade in Zagreb. The reigning Croatian champions are the most prosperous in the country, after all, when it comes to selling their star player for substantial fees.
Josko Gvardiol, Dani Olmo, Marko Pjaca and Luka Modric all departed for fees in excess of £15 million. Osijek’s record sale, meanwhile, stands at just £6 million.
- READ MORE: Rangers Transfer History 2016-Present
Rangers target Marko Soldo could have been worth £12m
“I did some research and found a player named Marko Soldo,” Mamic now tells Face TV. “He is currently the most promising defensive midfielder in Croatian football.
“Dinamo released him to Osijek for 400,000 euros six months ago. And, if he were at Dinamo today, he would be worth 15 million euros.”
Now, Mamic may refer to Soldo as a ‘defensive midfielder’ but that is only part of the story.
With six goals and four assists to his name already in 2024/25, Croatia Under-21 ace Marko Soldo has adapted brilliantly to a more advanced role since joining Osijek on a permanent basis.
He is, to quote Croatian publication Germanijak, ‘a modern midfielder who can play all over the field’. Soldo possesses ‘extreme’ physical power, not only due to his 6ft 1ins frame but also his three-lunged running stats.
Osijek ace Soldo is a number six, a number eight and a number ten
“The number six has been my primary position since I was younger,” Soldo explains. “But I used to play as an attacking midfielder even then, so that role was not foreign to me. In Osijek, I often play as a number eight. Sometimes, I go to the number ten position.
“I have no problem adapting to the coach’s demands, all for the sake of a good result. And [being in close] proximity to the opponent’s goal suits me. I get more chances to assist and score.”
Rangers appear to have made versatile operators key to their recent restructuring. Nedim Bajrami, Mo Diomande, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Dujon Sterling, for instance, were all identified as footballers capable of playing across a variety of roles.
Soldo, then, would not only challenge Diomande, Conor Barron and the in-form Nico Raskin in the deep-lying roles, but also Tom Lawrence, Hagi and co for the number ten spot.
Ianis Hagi has forced his way back into Rangers’ XI in recent times. Philippe Clement has used Danilo as an attacking midfielder of late, the Brazilian impressing in his new role behind the imposing Hamza Igamane.
