Rangers are lining up a stunning swoop to bring former Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski back to Scotland on loan from Girona.
The North Macedonian international, a huge success at Pittodrie before winning a £6.8million move to La Liga, has fallen out of favour under Girona boss Michel and was left out of their squad for today’s trip to Villarreal.
Rangers head coach Russell Martin is known to have had the player on his radar during previous spells in charge of Swansea and Southampton and, with the futures of Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane still unclear, a deal for the 26-year-old could go a long way to solving the striking issues that have blighted the Ibrox club’s start to the season, with just two goals scored as their first two Premiership games ended in draws.
Miovski signed a four-year contract with the Spanish side in August last year after scoring 44 goals in 91 appearances for Aberdeen. But he found the move tough going as Girona struggled to replicate their La Liga heroics from the previous season, when they ran Real Madrid and Barcelona close in an enthralling title race.
The striker managed only four goals and two assists across his 23 appearances in north-east Spain and found playing time hard to come by as Girona ultimately escaped relegation by a single point.
Now he has been told he has no future at the club and, while he is thought to favour a permanent transfer — something Rangers may be unable to afford without first making a sale — over a loan deal, the prospect of a return to the familiar landscape of Scottish football could sway his decision.
Miovski scored 44 goals in 91 appearances for Aberdeen and was a huge success at Pittodrie
Miovski bagged four goals against Rangers in his nine encounters with the Ibrox side
The Macedonian has been told he has no future at Girona and has been axed for Villarreal trip
Celtic have been linked with the player in the past and are on the lookout for reinforcements up front, so the possibility of the Parkhead club assessing the situation is an intriguing one.
How the respective clubs fare in this week’s Champions League play-off second legs could also play a part, with Miovski having claimed the opportunity of playing in Europe’s elite competition was the primary reason for his move away from Aberdeen.
Rangers trail Club Brugge 3-1 after a first-leg setback at Ibrox, while Celtic are today flying out to Kazakhstan for the second leg against Kairat Almaty following a 0-0 stalemate at home.
Meanwhile, Rangers boss Martin has attempted to put the statistic that shows they have faced 119 shots this season into context.
His side have been criticised for being too open, having kept only two clean sheets in his first eight matches in charge and conceded seven goals in their last three games against Viktoria Plzen, Alloa and Club Brugge, including three in the first 20 minutes against the Belgians on Wednesday.
Addressing claims his side are defensively open, Martin said: ‘Motherwell, yes definitely. Dundee, we gave very little away, two set-plays was really it.
Miovski misses a penalty in a Champions League clash against Feyenoord last season
‘It’s been frustrating to concede three against Brugge. That was a psychological thing because we had conceded early and don’t react properly, so were a bit flustered.
‘The others, we’re playing in Europe against teams that are throwing caution to the wind, and Alloa where we make 10 changes. I understand the narrative but I also have to contextualise it a little bit.’
Rangers travel to Paisley today to face a St Mirren side who have taken seven points from their last three Premiership meetings.
‘It’s an exciting game for us because we have to show how much we can compete, in the same way we did in the second half (against Brugge) in really difficult circumstances,’ said Martin, who has offloaded Ben Davies to Oxford United on a season-long loan that will spell the end of his Ibrox career and also saw Ridvan Yilmaz complete his move to Besiktas for an undisclosed fee.
‘We have to turn the game into one that we want but you have to fight for it because St Mirren are really well organised, really well coached, really aggressive, powerful physically. So, it’s a good challenge.’
