Osijek defender Luka Jelenic(Image: Luka Jelenic / Instagram)Croatian centre-back Luka Jelenic is reportedly a target for Rangers and Vitoria Guimaraes.
The Russell Martin rebuild has commenced at Ibrox with deals underway for the likes of Conor Coady, Max Aarons and Kwame Poku.
But centre-back appears to have jumped to the top of the priority list amid questions over whether John Souttar will be fit for their Champions League opener with Panathinaikos next month.
Coady would fit that bill but now, according to 24sata in Croatia, they are keen on Osijek defender Jelenic.
The 25-year-old only joined his current club in an £800,000 deal last summer but it’s claimed they already believe they can sell him for ‘serious money.’
It’s reported that Rangers as well as Portuguese side Vitoria have ‘bitten’ and that the first formal offers could arrive ‘very soon.’
Jelenic made 40 appearances for his side last season and is widely viewed as one of the top defenders in the Croatian league.
He comes from the same club Rangers signed Borna Barisic from in a £2m deal in 2018.
It comes after new boss Martin today said he expects to have his new squad in place in time for the Champions League opener on July 22.
He said: “I think the squad will look different (by then). We will have some players in by then as well, so the earlier we can do that, the better, so they become ingrained in what we are trying to build culturally and in terms of performance.
“The players are back in on Monday. That’s the most exciting bit. We will see what the players can do, how we are going to have to adapt and tweak to make it really built-in and ready for us, and then the rest will take care of itself.”
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