Nikola Krstovic has completed a £3.2 million move to Serie A outfit Lecce after reportedly becoming a Rangers target earlier in the summer transfer window.
While it’s fair to say neither Danilo, Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers or Abdallah Sima have really set the world alight so far at Ibrox, Rangers four new forwards certainly possess the talent and the potential to set the Scottish game alight after adapting to life in their new Glasgow home.
All the aforementioned quartet have found the net at a prolific rate in the past.
Then again, you can say the same of Nikola Krstovic; another talented centre-forward who reportedly played his way onto Rangers’ radar after hitting the target 23 times in 30 games for FC Dunajska Streda in Slovakia last season.
A terrific finisher off both feet, the Montenegro international will now be hoping to follow in the footsteps of legendary compatriot Mirko Vucinic at a Lecce outfit who only narrowly avoided the drop in 2022/23.
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“It was a long negotiation,” Lecce director Pantaleo Corvino says, breathing a sigh of relief after completing a signing that took some effort – and plenty of patience – to conclude (Tuttomeratoweb).
“Identifying a player that can be good for Lecce is not easy. Once I targeted Krstovic, I called Vucinic and he told me he’s strong, to sign him.
“In the end, we paid 3.8 million euros for him.”
That £3.2 million fee is some way less than the figures quoted when Rangers were reportedly interested earlier in the window. It is also less than the sums Mick Beale’s side paid to bring Lammers, Dessers and Danilo to Scotland, the forward trio setting Rangers back around £13 million combined.
“My idols are Mirko Vucinic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” Krstovic adds after putting pen to paper with lecce. “I’m happy to be here. I immediately asked for the number nine shirt.”
Krstovic has already started to repay that investment. He needed only four minutes to score on his Serie A debut in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Fiorentina.