With Giovanni van Bronckhorst surely rebuilding the Rangers squad over the summer as his first full season approaches, it could look like Niko Katic will be one player that departs the club.

The Croatian was signed by the previous manager for £2m from Slaven Belupo during his first transfer window in charge of the Ibrox side, becoming his fifth signing.

Over his first two seasons, Katic featured on a regular basis under Gerrard without ever setting the world alight. Such were his dismal performances that he was picked up a dreadful WhoScored average match rating of 6.32 and 6.49 in back to back European campaigns.

The £9k-a-week defender's finest moment came when he scored the winner against Celtic at Parkhead in December 2019 which ended the club's nine-year away drought over their rivals.

The 25-year-old suffered a season-ending injury in the summer of 2020 which ruled him out of the entirety of the Ibrox side's historic Scottish Premiership winning campaign.

A loan spell to Hajduk Split in his native Croatia has enabled him to get back to fitness, featuring 25 times in all competitions and leading Hajduk to the Croatian Cup final.

The stark reality, however, is it looks like he has played his last match for Rangers.

Although Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be looking to analyse the players who are out on loan, the club has a strong contingent of centre backs. Add to the fact John Souttar will be joining from Hearts before next season and with interest in Vitesse defender Danilho Doekhi not fading away, then it could be time to cut ties.

He became a fan favourite during his first two seasons at the club, but with him being a decent earner, van Bronckhorst might just want to get him off the wage bill and bring in some funds to boost other areas of the squad. When you consider his annual salary and transfer fee, this certainly feels like £3.3m down the drain.

AND in other news, Gough 2.0: Van Bronckhorst could save Rangers millions with “superb” rarely-seen 18 y/o