Rangers 'very close' to signing Antonio Colak, Giovanni van Bronckhorst confirms

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has confirmed that the club are “very close” to signing Antonio Colak but also conceded that Joe Aribo is likely to move to England “in the near future”.

Croatian international forward Colak is being lined up as the latest addition to the Ibrox squad and Van Bronckhorst believes he will bolster the team’s attacking options.

The PAOK striker scored twice against Rangers in Champions League qualifying last year during a loan spell at Malmo that saw him net 19 goals in total.

“We are very close with him,” Van Bronckhorst told Sky Sports. “We’ve worked hard to get him on board.

“So hopefully he will join us really soon and give us some extra options up front.

“I think he’s shown in the teams he’s played for he can score goals. He’s a very good striker.

“He did us a lot of damage at the beginning of last season, which also showed his quality.

“It’s a new season ahead. We want to be successful in all the competitions we play in so we have to have the squad to be able to do that.

“So we’re more than happy that he will join us very soon.”

While Colak’s arrival is near, Joe Aribo’s departure might be imminent. Rangers and Southampton have held advanced discussions over the attacking midfielder and Van Bronckhorst said that the player’s target was always to play in the English top flight.

“He’s been really good for this club for the last years,” the Rangers boss said. “His development has been really good but his ambition is to play in the Premier League.

“That’s his ambition and that’s probably what’s going to happen in the near future.

“It’s what you want, to get talented players into the club, develop them into really good players and eventually the player has their own ambitions.

“But I think what he has done for this club has been fantastic.”