When Niko Katic first arrived at Ibrox in the summer of 2018 it was hard not to get excited by this powerful young Croat. It was clear withing a couple of games that, alongside senior partner Connor Goldson, he was such a massive and obvious upgrade on what had gone before. For a 21-year-old, it looked incredibly promising and seemed obvious Rangers' £1.5m outlay would see a huge return before long.

And then it all went horribly wrong.

After a brilliant run of form, loanee signing Joe Worrall surprisingly replaced him for a Europa League group game against Villarreal. The youngster seemed rocked for a while, as were the supporte who couldn't quite fathom the logic, but Katic fought his way back over time. 

His role in a 2-1 victory at Parkhead, the first win there in a decade, will unlikely be forgotten thanks to his towering leap for the headed winner.

Lockdown pulled the shutters down on his second full season and a serious injury put him out for the entirety of the third before it even started. Sent out on loan for the fourth to Hadjuk Split to get back into the groove, he now faces the final year of his Rangers spell.

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He remains a fan favourite and there are still plenty who can't understand why the Croat isn't given a chance to show what he can do. You can see why. He's robust, loves a challenge and can be practically unbeatable in the air. In many ways he's a throwback to another era. You can imagine him taking his place in the Rangers side of the 80s or 90s and doing rather well alongside Richard Gough or Terry Butcher. 

But football has moved on.

Never mind centre-backs, goalies are now expected to spark attacks by ensuring they are capable of passing out. And that's always been the big man's problem, he struggles with starting the play. 

It's not a problem in the big games but in the bread and butter matches, the ones that won't win you a title but can certainly you lose one, there's a school of thought that says he's not the man you need to cut through a packed defence. And, on balance, that's probably correct but you'd also have to factor in his ability to grab a goal from a corner or free-kick with one of those trademark thumping headers.

It's something Giovanni van Bronckhorst will no doubt be assessing at Auchenhowie over the coming days. The Dutchman has already turned around the Rangers careers of Calvin Bassey and John Lundstram because he saw something different in them. Rangers have a thoughtful, intelligent coach at the helm, capable of thinking outside the box.

Perhaps his next reinvention can be the unlucky Croat who really has earned a slice of good fortune. 

This piece is an extract from today’s Rangers Insider newsletter, which is emailed out at 5pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Rangers Review team.

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