WITH Antonio Colak closing in on a £1.8m move to Rangers, our writer Derek Clark spoke to Swedish football journalist Jonas Hansson to get an insight into the Croatian following his loan spell with Malmo.

How did he perform for Malmo last season?

Malmo played a 4-2-3-1 formation where he was the central striker in that formation. He had a bit of a slow start which is natural because he didn’t play in Greece. He got here late and got Covid so the Spring was mostly a waiting period for him to get going. He then got famous for the game against Rangers, which was his big game that season. Other than that he was a fairly good Allsvenskan striker. He scored a lot of goals against some of the worse teams in the league when Malmo had to put in a lot of crosses to get one goal against a low block. He’s a very good striker when it takes just one or two touches to get a goal.

Is he good at leading the line on his own?

If you’re looking at him he almost has the body of a Greek god. He’s 190cm tall and he’s quite big so the first thing you think is that he’s a great target man. I think he’s okay as a target man, he’s okay at running. He can link up with his teammates but I think his biggest strength is his goalscoring ability.

What was his goal ratio like in the Swedish league?

He scored one goal every two games which is pretty good considering he had such a slow start. His goals were mostly against the worse teams rather than the top teams where he struggled. He maybe scored one or two penalties but he was very useful against the worse teams. I should also mention that Malmo’s pressing last year was amazing and he was the guy who started it all. He’s not that fast and he doesn’t run a great deal but he’s quite good at pressing.

How did he perform on the European stage?

Malmo did well in qualifying and then they got Chelsea, Juventus and Zenit and never had a single chance against them. For a long time, it was like, ‘Maybe we can score a goal?’ They did eventually but it was that kind of performance they had to put up with. They scored one goal. Colak didn’t do anything in the group stage but neither did anyone else in the team. The team wasn’t good enough plus they were fighting for the Allsvenskan title as well because we play in the Spring and Autumn. During Autumn you have to play for the league title so you’re maybe focused a little bit more on that.

Was there a chance of him signing a permanent deal with Malmo?

Yeah, absolutely. I think he was a little bit disappointed that Malmo didn’t buy him because they had a buy-out clause. It was about €3m. Malmo felt it was a little bit too much because they don’t really spend that money on new signings. Their transfer record is about €1.5m. Plus he had a very expensive salary so they were like, ‘Are you going to smash our transfer record for this single striker?’ They decided not to. They brought home a fairly similar player, a Swedish player who had played for them before who cost them around half that. There was talk about it but he ended up back at PAOK. Colak didn’t want to take a big pay cut because he had a new coach in Greece so he wanted to see what would happen there.

Was he a fans favourite?

Absolutely. I think he has two strings to him. His goalscoring ability is his number one strength and this might sound weird but I think his number two strength is how well-liked he is. He says all the right things, he’s a charming guy and he smiles and laughs a lot. I think that’s why Malmo really wanted to have him in the team because he’s such a likeable character. From everything I’ve heard he’s very hard working as well. There are zero problems with his attitude, only positive things so the Malmo fans loved him as a person but he was just too expensive compared to how much he gave to Malmo last year. Even though he was scoring some goals and he had a high price tag if they wanted to buy him, they didn’t win the Allsvenskan that easily last year so people were like, ‘Should he be even more of a star in this league?’

READ MORE: Antonio Colak to Rangers £1.8m transfer update as PAOK indecision causes hold-up

Is he a penalty box poacher or can he score goals from outside the area?

He’s mainly a poacher in the penalty area. He doesn’t score that many goals similar to the ones he scored against Rangers because those were very good finishes. He’s more someone who comes across, his head on the ball and it’s a goal. He has scored a few good shots from distance but you put him in the box, you make some crosses or a set-piece and you hope to find him. He’s definitely a box player.

Is it a surprise he struggled in Greece compared to how he fared in Sweden?

On one hand yes, on the other hand maybe not because when he first went to Greece he barely got a chance. He got a few games and then he was out before getting loaned to Malmo. It was similar this Spring when he got back to Greece. He made one start then a couple of substitute appearances and was not playing. He showed at Malmo that he’s great when he plays game after game after game but I also think he struggled a little bit during the Autumn last year because he played so many games. He was the main man as the striker. Malmo never really had another one who was good in that position.

READ MORE: Antonio Colak Rangers transfer scouting: The Champions League nemesis with ice in his veins

Do you think he can do well at Rangers?

Absolutely, but I don’t think he’ll ever dominate a game or he’ll very rarely dominate a game with his target play or with his running. I’m not sure he’s much faster than I am to be honest. He’s not super slow but he’s nothing special in terms of pace. He’s going to score goals if you give him the right service. I think he can keep up the pace he had at Malmo in the Scottish league, one goal every two games, I think that’s a fair assumption if he plays regularly.

Can he play as a two up front?

Absolutely. I think one of the reasons Malmo took him in is because he can play as one striker but he seems more like the type who will be even better with another guy next to him who can either do a lot of sprinting or as another target man so he can focus a little bit more on scoring goals. When you play as a lone striker at Malmo you have to do a little bit of target work, a little bit of pressing. I think he would be very good in a two-striker formation.