Rangers’ Bid for Nikica Jelavic Rejected
Rangers have had their offer for Rapid Vienna striker Nikica Jelavic rejected. The Austrian club have claimed the bid, believed to have been around £3.5m, was “not acceptable,” but said the ball was in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) champions’ court to come back with an improved offer.
The SPL giants’ chief executive, Martin Bain, had flown out for talks with Rapid, but those discussions seem to have come to a halt over the transfer fee of the player. Jelavic had urged his club to allow him to move on to Scotland and test out his talents in the UEFA Champions League.
Rapid spokesman Sharif Shoukry told the Daily Record: "There was no solution found to the Jelavic situation. Rangers will now fly home and it is up to them if they come back with a new offer. But the offer made today was not acceptable."
'Negotiations ongoing'
However, Rangers manager Walter Smith insisted that the deal wasn’t yet dead, despite Rapid holding out for a bid of around £4m for their player. He said: "Negotiations with both the club and the player, and his agents, are ongoing. He's a player we have been watching for a while. As normal, the club initially weren't too keen to sell him, but then they indicated they would be happy to listen to what we had to say. He's a player I think would do a really good job for us."
Rangers are eager to find a reliable goalscorer to replace Kris Boyd, who has left to join English Football League (EFL) Championship side Middlesbrough. Boyd is the SPL’s all-time leading scorer, so any forward moving to Ibrox will have big boots to fill. Rangers have seen six players leave this summer, and manager Smith is desperate to bolster his numbers before the new season kicks off.
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