Rangers have opened talks with Borna Barisic about extending his contract beyond the end of the season, according to journalist Dean Jones.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that discussions with Croatian, who has been capped 31 times by his country, “have begun” and there is expected to be progress in negotiations “soon”:
“Rangers have begun the process of talking to him about an extension, and that began a couple of months back. You would be expecting that to progress pretty soon if there is going to be a good ending to it from a Rangers perspective.”
“They need to try and make sure that the contract situation works out suitably, from their point of view, pretty soon because Rangers will need to be wondering what they will do by the time they get to the end of the season if they don’t get good indications that he is going to sign a new deal.”
Barisic can sign a pre-contract agreement in a matter of weeks
The Gers know that they need to tie down the 31-year-old to a contract extension as soon as possible as, otherwise, he could agree a deal with a foreign club.
As of January 1st, Barisic will be free to discuss terms over a free transfer when his current contract expires at the end of the season.
Clubs are interested in the Rangers defender
Last month, reports in the Italian media suggested that both Roma and Aston Villa were keeping tabs on the Croatian international’s situation.
If that interest is genuine, it will put even more pressure on Phillippe Clement’s side to agree terms with Barisic before the end of this month.