Aston Villa have not approached Rangers over Borna Barisic, according to Heart & Hand. 

The lowdown

It's been claimed that former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is keen on bringing Barisic south of the border, having taken over at Aston Villa.

A report suggested that an £8million January transfer was a genuine possibility. Gerrard regards Barisic as a 'fantastic player' who's 'really, really consistent'.

Barisic is under contract at Ibrox until May 2024 after penning a new £18,000-per-week deal in January 2020 (via Transfermarkt) however, meaning the Light Blues are in a fantastic negotiating position.

The latest

Heart & Hand, an official media partner of the football club, tweeted that they had 'asked' about Barisic and 'been told' that there was no contact between Rangers and Villa.

"Any reports to the contrary are false," they added.

The verdict

It seems that Gerrard and Villa have other targets in mind at left-back. For example, a recent report suggested that they are keen on Stuttgart's Borna Sosa, a compatriot of Barisic.

This is very good news for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers. According to WhoScored, Barisic has been the team's third-best performer this season, behind only Joe Aribo and 10-assist right-back James Tavernier.

But there remains a possibility that Gerrard looks to raid his former club for a player he believes can make the step-up to the English Premier League.

Indeed, The Daily Mail (via Birmingham Live) have reported that Ryan Kent is very much on his radar, so while the Gers have seemingly won the Barisic battle, they may have many more to come with their former gaffer.

In other news, could Rangers add competition for Barisic at LB?