According to the Daily Express, Rangers are interested in signing Croatian international striker Mirko Maric from NK Osijek in the summer, with manager Steven Gerrard reportedly keen to bolster his ranks at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old, who has been in tremendous form for Osijek in the Croatian top flight this season, is rated at £3million by his current club. The 2-cap Croatian international has registered 15 goals and 6 assists from 31 appearances this season and he is currently the top scorer in his homeland.
The Croatian top flight has been a happy hunting ground for Rangers in recent times, with the Gers bringing in the likes of Eros Grezda, Borna Barisic and Nikola Katic last summer. The move for Maric, if it does materialize, will be Rangers’ fourth raid on the Croatian top-division in a space of two transfer windows.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina to parents of Croatian descent, Maric started his professional career at Siroki Brijeg in his native land before moving on to Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb. However, he found regular minutes hard to come by at his new club and spent time on loan at Lokomotiva Zagbreb before completing a move to Hungary with Videoton. Following a prolific spell in the Hungarian top division, Maric moved back to Croatia and signed for NK Osijek. The 23-year-old has accumulated 28 goals and 10 assists from 68 appearances for Osijek in all competitions.
Standing at 6ft. 2 inches with a well-built frame, Mirko Maric is known for his physicality and aerial ability as a centre-forward. Noted for his opportunistic nature and poaching instincts inside the penalty area, Maric combines his physical attributes with his subtle movement and awareness to score goals. He is also adept at using short exchanges to link up with his teammates, while also boasting of high levels of stamina to run the defenders ragged.
To put things into perspective, Rangers need to add more firepower to their attack if they are to challenge Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title and someone like Maric would not be a bad choice. The Gers have had reasonable success when it comes to bringing in young talents from Croatia and there is no reason why Maric cannot follow the footsteps of Grezda, Katic, Barisic at Ibrox.
Rangers have relied heavily on Alfredo Morelos to deliver the goods week-in-week-out in front of goal but the Colombian has already been linked with a move away from Glasgow in the summer. Given that he has enjoyed a prolific season in the Scottish top-flight at such a young age, Morelos is likely to be a man in demand at the end of the season and Rangers would find it hard to keep hold of their prized asset. To add to that, Kyle Lafferty’s struggle for form and fitness in front of goal this term is bound to have compounded Gerrard’s worries.
The Gers have already completed the signing of Joan Jordan and Jake Hastie from Kilmarnock and Motherwell respectively by agreeing pre-contract deals but a natural goalscorer is the need of the hour at Glasgow.
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Suffice to say, Rangers need to bring in a new striker this summer to mount a better challenge for the domestic title, as well as in the Europa League. Mexican striker Eduardo Herrera hasn’t been in the picture this season and they should look to cash in on him as it is quite apparent that he doesn’t have a future at the club. The Gers can use that money to table a bid for Mirko Maric, who looks more like the real deal at the moment.