So far, Rafael Fernandes, a 22-year-old centre-back is the Light Blues’ sole winter arrival, despite the fact Philippe Clement’s side sit a whopping ten points adrift run-away Premiership leaders Celtic, having played a game more.
Their title hopes are all but mathematically over, but there’s still plenty to play for, given the Gers’ involvement in the Scottish Cup and the Europa League, welcoming Belgian outfit Royale Union Saint-Gilloise to Ibrox for a crucial European tie on Thursday.
Due to numerous injuries, Clement has been forced to name makeshift back-lines on multiple occasions this season, so could Rangers re-sign a former centre-back to bolster his options?
Rangers looking to re-sign a defender
According to Timo Rizzi of Swiss online newspaper Watson, Rangers have now ‘made an offer’ to FC Zürich, as they attempt to re-sign defender Nikola Katić, who ‘wants to leave’ Switzerland this month.
Zürich boss Ricardo Moniz claims his side are yet to receive any offers for Katić, but former Rangers defender Craig Moore urges his former club to re-sign the “big, solid defender” who he describes as a former “fans’ favourite” from his time in Glasgow.
Katić was one of the very first players signed by Steven Gerrard when he took over as Rangers manager in 2018, arriving from Slaven Belupo Koprivnica for a reported fee of £2m.
“He was a mountain out there and he’s a sponge on the training pitches. He wants to learn and he understands that he’s got to continue soaking up all the information, and learning and growing. It was an outstanding performance for a young kid because, if you think of defenders, normally they’re not ready until their mid-twenties to perform like that.” – Gerrard in 2019.
The highlight of his Rangers career, unquestionably, was heading home the winner at Parkhead in 2019, as the Light Blues won an away Old Firm derby for the first time in nine years.
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How Nikola Katić’s return could help Rangers
In total, Katić made just 59 appearances across four seasons in Govan, not featuring at all between 8 March 2020 and 11 August 2021, a period of 521 days, after suffering a “career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament”, thereby loaned out to Hajduk Split the same month as his return, before joining Zürich a year later, upon the expiration of his contract.
Since the centre-back was last bedecked in red, white and blue, a lot has changed, not least his nationality.
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Katić earned one cap for Croatia, featuring during a friendly against Mexico at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in May 2017.
However, he was then never called up again so, in 2024, he switched his allegiance to Bosnia & Herzegovina, the country of his birth, debuting against England in a pre-Euros friendly at St James’ Park, starting all six of the Golden Lilies’ fixtures in June, September and October, before sitting out the November’s Nations League double-header.
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Meantime, he’s made 86 appearances for Zürich across the last two and a half seasons, established as a regular in their defence, albeit he’s sat out their last two Swiss Super League matches, against Yverdon Sport and Luzern, potentially due to ongoing transfer speculation.
So, could the now-Bosnian defender be returning to Govan and would he be a good signing? The answer is yes.
As alluded to earlier, Rangers have not had a settled centre-back pairing all season, yet to properly replace Connor Goldson, who departed for Aris Limassol in the summer.
When fit, John Souttar would be first choice, with veteran Leon Balogun or summer signing Robin Pröpper his most frequent partner, so let’s examine how Katić compares to that duo.
As outlined in the table, since the start of the 2022/23 season, Katić comes out on top when it comes to passing and % of aerial duals won, and he compares favourably to both Balogun and Pröpper in most metrics, such as tackles, interceptions and ball recoveries.
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Also, during this very long timeframe, the Bosnian has racked up almost twice as many minutes as the Nigerian suggesting, unlike his previous stint in Glasgow, he can be available for a prolonged period, a valuable ability considering Rangers’ constant defensive injury crisis.
Katić’s aerial prowess particularly stands out so, if Rangers are able to re-sign the centre-back this month, it appears to be a move worth making.
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