GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 18: A general view during the pre-season friendly match between Rangers and Newcastle at Ibrox Stadium on July 18, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Nikola Krstovic is now a target for a number of ‘big clubs’ after Rangers missed out on a potential £3.2 million deal for Lecce’s Serie A breakout star.
There are shades of Krysztof Piatek at Genoa about the way Nikola Krstovic has taken Italian football by storm at Genoa.
A little-known, Eastern European forward arriving and hitting the ground running. So much so that his future is already the subject of much discussion, Lecce potentially set to do what Genoa did and make a huge profit on a player after just half a season of Serie A football.
Rangers looked at Lecce striker Nikola Krstovic
According to reports, Rangers showed an interest in Krstovic, the former Dunajska Streda poacher opting to follow in the footsteps of his icon and fellow Montenegrin Mirko Vucinic at Lecce instead.
Only two months after Krstovic put pen to paper at the Stadio Via del Mare, scouts working on behalf of Italy’s biggest clubs – including Inter and an AC Milan side who snapped up the aforementined Piatek in 2019 – are flocking, per Gazzetta dello Sport.
Milan Dudic, Krstovic’s agent, does not confirm whether or not those rumours are true. But he does admit that clubs with far deeper pockets than Rangers are keeping very close eyes on one of Europe’s most upwardly-mobile number nines.
“Big clubs have made inquiries for his client,” Dudic tells Calciomercato.
“One of the reasons behind him joining Lecce was positive experience in Salento of an important Montenegrin footballer like Vucinic. In the Balkans, then, Italian football has great appeal.
“There were other Italian clubs (interested) and other options in England and France. But Nikola was convinced by Lecce’s project and by (director Pantaleo) Corvino. There is a great feeling with the club and the city.”
Inter and AC Milan linked
The 23-year-old has four goals in seven Serie A starts so far. His form in stark contrast to that of Cyriel Dessers, the struggling striker who set Rangers back over £1 million more than Lecce paid for Krstovic.
