Juventus icon makes 'contact' with Rangers star as he leaves Ibrox ace buzzing by handing out major reward
The Rangers striker has held talks with an icon of the game.
Pavel Nedved has sparked excitement for one Rangers star by handing him an international chance.
Paperwork still needs ironed out but the 2003 Ballon d'Or winner famed for iconic stints in Italy with Lazio and Juventus has held talks with Ryan Naderi over playing for the Czech Republic national team. He is now the general manager for the nation he is widely regarded as one of their finest-ever players and has a key role in convincing duel-allegiance players to go Czech on the international scene.
Naderi is German, signed by Rangers from Hansa Rostock earlier this year, but has a Czech mother and Bulgarian father. The former Juve and Lazio star is keen to get him involved after making initial contact.
What Rangers star could play for Czech Republic?
Nedved told Infotbal: “He is on our radar; he is a player we would call up to the national team. Unfortunately, we cannot do that at this moment, even though he holds Czech citizenship. There are still a few final administrative steps required before he can be called up. Our legal department is doing everything in its power to get these documents processed as quickly as possible.
“I really appreciate Ryan’s decision to represent the Czech Republic. He has done so much to make it happen; he really wanted this. He put in personal effort and handled the paperwork over in the UK. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to finalise the paperwork here in Brno or Prague just yet. Work is underway, and I would be very happy to see it resolved as quickly as possible. We really want him on the team, and he will certainly be joining us soon.
“At this moment, I don’t know exactly how much is left to do. I hope it’s really just a small amount. We are in contact with him and his family. You could see how excited he was. It’s probably a bit of a disappointment for him right now that we haven’t managed to get it done here yet. If there’s any chance, we can move things forward in the next few days so he can join the squad, we would be absolutely delighted to do so.”
Ryan Naderi fitness update
How much of a part he could play remains to be seen after Rangers contacted head of referees, Willie Collum, over a challenge by Celtic’s Mika Baur on Naderi in last week’s win over the Hoops on Premier Sports Cup quarter-final business. It’s made him a doubt for this weekend’s Premiership return fixture and manager Derek McInnes said: "I haven't sought an explanation but the club have.
"The club, (chief executive) Jim Gillespie, spoke to Willie Collum and the SFA about it. I'm really not happy with the challenge, but I'm not going to get caught up in referee chat. I'm surprised that the referee wasn't asked to look at that. I find it strange that it wasn't. Ryan's ankle's a mess. It was a mess, it was a poor challenge. Sometimes these challenges can happen, but it didn't look great, to be honest. And Ryan is one of two players who's a wee bit of doubt for the game on Sunday."
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