Nottingham Forest are not interested in signing Rangers left-back Borna Barisic next summer, despite recent links, according to the Daily Record.

The newspaper reported on its website on Thursday (19 October) that the Premier League side are not interested despite suggestions that they could move for the Light Blues defender should Harry Toffolo's five-month suspended ban be activated.

Initial links between Forest and Barisic emerged on Wednesday (18 October) when Croatian news outlet Nogometne Vijesti reported that Steve Cooper's side had entered the race for the 30-year-old, but it now appears as though Dinamo Zagreb have the advantage in the hunt for his signature.

Currently, it is thought that the Light Blues hope to agree a deal with the defender to end any speculation, while there is still a chance that a "bizarre" agreement could be made to extend his stay in Glasgow, only to still leave so Rangers at least receive a transfer fee.

Decision time

Rangers need to decide on Barsic's future sooner rather than later, otherwise the Light Blues are going to lose a regular starter for nothing come the end of the season, even if Forest aren't one of the teams to hold a genuine interest in the Croatian international.

There will be clubs around Europe and likely further afield queuing up to take the 30-year-old on a free transfer, so if the Light Blues want to extend his stay at Ibrox, they're going to have to start drawing up a contract offer in the next few weeks.

Should Barisic depart, either in the summer or when the January window opens, Philippe Clement will be left with the rather inexperienced pair of Ridvan Yilmaz and Adam Devine as his options on the left of defence, with Dujon Sterling able to deputise.

While Yilmaz was bought for the future, there has been little in his performances so far this season to suggest that he has what it takes to be the first-choice left-back at Rangers. The Light Blues will have to decide whether they can afford to purchase a new defender better than what they already have in their squad, should Barisic decide to depart.

As Clement settles in at Ibrox, you would imagine that solving this situation is quite high on his to-do list.

In other Rangers news, Craig Moore has slammed Rangers for taking too long to appoint a new director of football

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