Rangers have rejected a bid from Leeds for Borna Barisic, a report from Sportske Novosti in the defender’s native Croatia has claimed.
Barisic has made 68 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants since joining from Osijek back in 2018, and is considered to be a key player at Inbox, although those contributions now appear to have attracted attention from elsewhere.
According to the latest reports, Leeds have seen a bid rejected for the 27-year-old, as they look to strengthen their side ahead of their return to the Premier League in little more than a weeks time.
It is thought that the Whites have offered somewhere in the region of £8million for Barisic this summer, an offer that has been knocked back by Rangers, as they look to retain the services of the left-back.
As things stand, there are four years remaining on Barisic’s current contract with Rangers, putting the club in a very strong position to negotiate whatever offers might come in for him.
The 27-year-old is not the first Rangers player to be linked with a move to Elland Road this summer, with the Championship title winners already reportedly seeing a £10million bid for winger Ryan Kent rejected by the Scottish club.
Unlike Kent, whose attacking abilities could have been useful for Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the current campaign, Barisic does seem like a somewhat unlikely target for Leeds, given they are already well-stocked at left-back with the likes of Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski and Barry Douglas right now.
Indeed, with Rangers in no need to sell the defender any time soon, and the ability to spend Leeds are showing this summer, you feel it would have to take an offer much bigger than this to prise Barisic away from Ibrox in the coming weeks.
As a result, with Leeds arguably needing to strengthen in other positions more urgently, it would be something of a surprise to see Barisic at Elland Road next season.