Borna Barisic display hints Rangers won’t need Martin Olsson

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Glasgow Rangers are reportedly interested in bringing Martin Olsson to Ibrox this summer.

While Rangers were always going to struggle to make a big impression in their Europa League qualifying tie with St Joseph’s, there were still a couple of pleasant surprises from Steven Gerrard’s men in Gibraltar as they took a commanding lead from the first-leg.

The Gers won 4-0 at Victoria Stadium, with one of the goals coming from a fantastic free-kick from Borna Barisic, who will be hoping to enjoy a much better second season at Ibrox after a tough first year with the Gers.

Gerrard will not be getting carried away with the win given the opposition, but there is no question that it was an encouraging performance from the Croatia international. And it may just be the kind of display that will give Gerrard reason to abort any plans to pursue one of his reported targets in the remaining weeks of the window.

Swedish outlet Expressen claimed last month that Rangers were one of the teams interested in Martin Olsson following the left-back’s departure from Swansea City earlier in the summer.

The 31-year-old is a good player with bags of experience at a very good level having spent his entire professional career in either the Premier League and Championship in England. But he has struggled with injury, and he goes into this summer having not played a single game since December 2018.

It would therefore, be a gamble for Rangers to sign him, especially as Gerrard has two genuine options in that position, as well as Andy Halliday, who never let the team down when used at full-back last season.

And if Barisic’s better performance in midweek was a sign of what is to come from the 26-year-old, then signing Olsson would arguably be a fairly pointless move, especially if Gerrard has other concerns to address before the season starts.

Barisic still has plenty to prove before he wins his doubters over. But it would be no surprise if a move for Olsson has now moved right towards the bottom of Gerrard’s list of priorities.