Rangers ‘ask for information' about Serie A playmaker who cost £8.5m as a teenager amid huge summer clearout

Rangers have been linked with an intriguing transfer swoop for a Croatian international and have reportedly ‘asked for information’ about the potential availability of Fiorentina star Josip Brekalo.

The 26-year-old winger - a former international team mate of ex-Ibrox defender Nikola Katic - returned from a six-month loan spell at Hadjuk Split in his homeland earlier this summer but has not managed to earn a second chance in Italy under new boss Raffaele Palladino with the Serie A outfit.

Brekalo was previously rated one of the brightest up-and-coming talents of his generation to emerge from the Balkan nation, with German Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg paying around £8.5million to secure his signature as a teenager.

Various reports in Italy are suggesting that last season's Europa Conference League finalists are looking to offload a host of fringe players before the end of the window and Brekalo falls into that category. Fellow Italian clubs Empoli and Venezia have both been touted with a possible deal for the versatile attacker in recent days - with Fiorentina understood to be locked in discussions with both sides over a loan deal with an option to buy clause.

Well-respected Italian journalist Nicolo Schira has claimed that Rangers have asked for information about Brekalo. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Rangers have asked for info on Josip Brekalo, who could leave Fiorentina in the next few days.” Additionally, Viola News state that while the player has “entered the sights” of the Ibrox recruitment team, “negotiations are still far from being in full swing” between both parties at this stage.

Brekalo, who can play on either flank or in the No 10 role, has still got two years left on his current deal in Florence although it now appears very likely he will be allowed to leave the club. He could fill a troublesome position for Philippe Clement’s side at present, with the Belgian boss relying heavily on the likes of Tom Lawrence and Scott Wright, with Todd Cantwell and Ianis Hagi expected to leave Glasgow shortly.

A mainstay of the Croatian youth teams, Brekalo has been capped 35 times for his country, scoring four goals in the process. Rangers have also been linked with a move for another Italian-based Croatian in the form of left-back Domagoj Bradaric.