Rangers accelerate efforts to land Croatian forward amid £8.5m competition from Hamburg and Hull City
Rangers are hoping to make their first signing of the Russell Martin era
Premiership title hopefuls Rangers are expected to up the ante on their push to sign highly-rated Croatian forward Matija Frigan this summer.
The 49ers Group are expected to hand new manager Russell Martin and incoming sporting director Kevin Thelwell a large warchest to strengthen the squad this summer after a disastrous 2024/25 campaign which saw the Gers finish in second and a disappointing 17 points behind runaway winners Celtic.
The Light Blues recorded their lowest points tally since the 2019/20 season under Steven Gerrard and will hope to see major improvements if they are to push Celtic closer in next term’s title race.
Frigan, who is a Croatian Under-21 international, is likely to appeal to Rangers due to his impressive form in Belgium for K.V.C. Westerlo and his potential to develop into a formidable goalscorer in years to come.
Rangers accelerate efforts to sign Matija Frigan
Croatian outlet Novi list claims Rangers are extremely interested in signing Matija Frigan as Kevin Thelwell aims to make his first real statement of intent on the transfer front. Frigan scored 14 goals in 44 matches across all competitions this season and was also rated highly in Croatia before making the move to Belgium after scoring 15 in 32 games for Rjeka in the top-flight.
However, Record Sport has also learned that newly promoted Bundesliga side Hamburg are also in the race to land their forward, and are willing to launch an £8.5 million bid that could blow Russell Martin's side out of the water. Hamburg are historically speaking one of the biggest teams in Germany and are keen to get back to the top after a seven-year hiatus from the top-flight finally came to an end with promotion.
But Novi List also reports that a recent development in the English Football League could influence Frigan’s decision making this summer as the race heats up. Hull City, who narrowly avoided relegation to League One, recently hired Sergej Jakirovic as their new manager. He’s known for guiding Dinamo Zagreb to the league title in 2024 but also has prior experience working with Frigan with Rjeka and is thought to have a great working relationship with the player that could influence proceedings.
Russell Martin outlines ambitions at Rangers
New Rangers boss Russell Martin has signed a three-year contract to become one of the key early appointments at start of a fresh era at Ibrox. He gained experience with MK Dons where he won promotion, Swansea where he was generally praised for his style of football, and Southampton where he won promotion to the Premier League but was sacked after a disastrous start to last season.
"Winning is how you convince people - players, staff and supporters," he said at his unveiling at Ibrox on Thursday. We had to do that at Southampton - we had to win in amongst a lot of change. The promise I can give is that we will be all in to make his club and this team better. I think we can improve in all areas."