Glasgow Rangers face one of their most important matches of the season on Thursday as they welcome Benfica to Ibrox.
A win of any kind will see the Gers progress into the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the second time in three years and set the club up for a hectic climax to the season.
The job Philippe Clement has done during his first six months in charge of the Light Blues is nothing short of remarkable.
The Belgian manager will face various challenges over the next few months, especially with regard to improving his squad in the summer transfer window.
There are a host of players out of contract at Ibrox come the end of the season and Clement will need to replace them should they move on.
Out of contract Rangers players in 2024
Last season, Michael Beale faced a similar situation. In the end, players such as Allan McGregor, Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Filip Helander and Scott Arfield were not offered extensions and departed the club.
In total, six players are currently out of contract at the end of the current season and, as it stands, will leave Rangers.
Player
Club joined from
Games played
Kemar Roofe
Anderlecht
97
Borna Barisic
NK Osijek
230
Jon McLaughlin
Sunderland
46
Leon Balogun
QPR
79 (across two spells)
Ryan Jack
Aberdeen
210
John Lundstram
Sheffield United
143
Via Tansfermarkt
Jon McLaughlin, Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack, Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, and John Lundstram are the six players, and in reality, only the latter will be offered an extension due to his impressive form under the Belgian tactician.
The "highly-rated" Rangers academy grad who could replace John Lundstram
Rangers may have found an ideal heir for John Lundstram…
ByRoss Kilvington
The likes of Roofe and Jack will likely say goodbye in the next couple of months due to their worrying injury record, but it is Barisic who could give Clement the ultimate headache with regard to an extension.
What the future holds for Borna Barisic
The Croatian defender has had no shortage of admirers over the previous 12 months as his contract comes to an end.
Back in November, reports in Italy were linking AS Roma with a move for the left-back, while Aston Villa were also in the hunt to either sign the player on a cut-price deal in the January window or secure him for nothing at the end of the season.
According to Sports Digitale (via Football Scotland) more recently, Turkish outfit Trabzonspor are keen on snapping up the 31-year-old, with the report claiming that his agent has flown to the country for talks with the club.
Barisic has made 230 appearances for the Light Blues since arriving in the summer of 2018, becoming one of Steven Gerrard’s first signings for the club.
In that time, he has won every major domestic honour in Scotland, while helping the Gers reach the Europa League final in 2022, but his form has dipped this season.
Barisic ranks in a lowly 16th position among his teammates for big chances created in the Premiership this term (one), while also ranking ninth for accurate passes per game (29.7), 18th for successful dribbles per game (0.3) and third for possession lost per game (15.5), indicating that when he does get a chance, he has failed to really impress in the starting XI.
Ridvan Yilmaz has taken full advantage of this by becoming the first-choice left-back under Clement in recent months, and it is good to finally see the Turkish gem showcasing his talents.
If Barisic goes, however, there will still need to be another left-back in the squad to cover his departure, but Clement may have an ideal player waiting in the wings…
An exciting replacement for Barisic at Rangers
Clement has placed his trust in youngsters plenty of time this season, keeping Ross McCausland in the side along with giving the likes of Cole McKinnon minutes against Benfica and Hibs recently.
One player he has not utilised as yet is Johnly Yfeko. The defender signed for the Gers back in January 2022 and primarily played for the B team last season, although he was called up to the matchday squad for clashes against St Johnstone, Hearts, and St Mirren due to an injury crisis, but he did not get on the field.
It appeared as though Beale took a shine to him in pre-season, as Yfeko featured against the likes of Hamburg.
“He's in my thoughts for a first-team place, but so is Bailey Rice and Zach Lovelace,” said Beale after Yfeko played the second half against the German side last July.
“But I think Big Johnly has done well again and it's lovely to see when you have a young players come in, you can see the energy. He's not there, he's got some work to do, but I think we might have a good player.”
It did not take long for Beale to unleash him for his competitive debut. In a League Cup tie against Morton last August, several first-team players were rested, as Beale gave the youngsters a chance to shine.
Yfeko was one and the defender did not look out of place in the 2-1 win over the Championship outfit.
He was given a match rating of 7/10 by Football Scotland for his performance, with the report stating that Yfeko was a ‘towering presence’ and that he ‘doesn’t shirk out of a challenge’ in what was a promising debut.
Since then, the 20-year-old has failed to make another appearance, but he has been included in the matchday squad on two further occasions, most recently the last 16 clash against Benfica last week.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
With trophies to be won and continental progress to be achieved between now and May, Clement may not look to throw Yfeko into the deep end, especially with the form that Yilmaz is showing.
He should be encouraged about his prospects heading into the future, however, as Clement has given plenty of able youngsters an opportunity in the first-team squad, and they have not let him down yet.
It is time Barisic moves on from Rangers so that the club can unearth a new generation of player. The Croatian has been a wonderful servant for the Light Blues over the previous five and a half years, but to move forward, Clement has to make some big decisions and this means losing the full-back this summer.