Neil McCann has praised Borna Barisic after the Rangers defender assisted Tom Lawrence to score at Hibernian on Saturday, amid Premier League interest from Nottingham Forest.
Borna Barisic offers Rangers ‘brilliant quality’ amid Nottingham Forest interest
Neil McCann was full of praise for Borna Barisic on BBC Sportsound, after the Nottingham Forest target found Tom Lawrence to score Rangers’ second goal at Hibernian on Saturday.
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Hibs started the second-half well at Easter Road as they hosted Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in the Premiership. Lee Johnson’s men had fallen a goal down on the cusp of half-time to a James Tavernier penalty, yet responded with Martin Boyle poking in from close range.
However, their stalemate would only last eight minutes before Rangers were back in front. Barisic steamrolled down the wing to overlap Ryan Kent, before whipping an inviting cross. Lawrence also got the run on Joe Newell and made no mistake to score from six-yards out.
Johnson will have questioned how his centre-halves left Lawrence in so much space in the shadow of the crossbar to score. The header was also the 29-year-old’s third goal in seven games for Rangers, after moving to Ibrox from Derby County in July with a three-year deal.
Barisic is now on two assists for the season so far after seven matches in all competitions. The 29-year-old has started three of the Gers’ four Premiership matches, plus all three of their Champions League qualifying ties ahead of Wednesday’s play-off at PSV Eindhoven.
Neil McCann full of praise for Borna Barisic amid Premier League interest
Barisic’s cross into the Hibernian box for Lawrence to restore Rangers’ lead in Saturday’s 2-2 draw impressed McCann, amid interest from Nottingham Forest. The ex-Gers star always believes the 26-cap Croatia defender can produce with the ball at his feet in the final-third.
“We said Rangers are liable to burst into life at any time – they did it there,” McCann said. “You know in the final-third, generally, you get brilliant quality from Barisic. This time he puts in a fantastic ball, begging for someone to attack it.”
McCann’s praise for Barisic’s exploits at Hibernian comes amid interest in the Rangers left-back from Nottingham Forest. The Daily Mail note Steve Cooper is an admirer of the Gers’ 2018 arrival from NK Osijek, who now has 37 assists across 162 games for the club in total.
Cooper is now keen to sign Barisic from Rangers, with Nottingham Forest interested in late deals for left-backs. It remains to be seen if the City Ground side make a bid and how much the Gers demand for a player they valued at £5m back this January, per Football Scotland.
Rangers fixed their price tag at £5m amid a £2m offer from Watford, as the Hornets sought to avoid relegation from the Premier League. The Gers paid £2m to sign Barisic from Osijek back in 2018, and he remains under contract at Ibrox through until the summer of 2024.
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