GvB can land dream Barisic heir with Rangers swoop for "outstanding" £6m target - opinion

Rangers saw one of their most important players leave Ibrox earlier in the current transfer window as Joe Aribo waved goodbye to club.

The midfielder moved to the English Premier League earlier this month in a deal worth up to a reported £10m, bringing an end to his three years with the Light Blues.

Another significant player in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad who has been linked with an Ibrox exit this summer is Borna Barisic. In June, it was reported that the full-back had attracted interest from Turkish club Trabzonspor.

Should the 29-year-old find himself following in the footsteps of Aribo and leave Rangers this summer or in the near future, the club will need to ensure that they have a suitable replacement for the Croatian.

One man who has been linked with a move to Ibrox and who could fit this particular bill is Stoke City full-back Josh Tymon.

With 114 appearances to his name for the Potters across their senior and under-23 teams, the 23-year-old has scored four goals and delivered eight assists along the way.

Last season saw the Englishman make 44 Championship appearances for his current club and play more minutes than any other player in Michael O’Neill’s squad, highlighting just how important he is to them.

Tymon ended the campaign with more crosses delivered (201) than any of his team-mates and also posted the second-highest number of successful tackles (40) at the club. This highlights just how capable he is of getting up and down the pitch with and without the ball.

Bearing in mind how Barisic racked up the second-highest number of crosses (158) and the third-most tackles won (33) in Rangers’ squad for their previous Premiership campaign, it’s easy to see the similarities between the two players, and why