Rangers bid for Croatian forward Jelavic

STV
Nikica Jelavic was on target for Rapid Vienna three times when they faced Celtic in last season's Europa League.©SNS Group

Nikica Jelavic has been subject to a bid from Rangers, according to Rapid Vienna’s sporting director Alfred Hoertnagl. The Croatian forward, who was linked with a move to Celtic in the January transfer window, has been attracting interest from Blackburn Rovers this summer.

Hoertnagl told Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung on Monday Rangers’ bid for 24-year-old Jelavic was “not practical”, before confirming the offer made by the SPL title holders, the amount of which is unknown, was short of Rapids’ valuation.

6ft 2in Jelavic, who moved to Austria from Belgian club Zulte Waregem in 2008, scored against Celtic three times across their two Europa League matches last year. The Croatian scored Rapid’s goal in their 1-1 draw in Glasgow, before scoring twice in the first eight minutes of the 3-3 draw in Vienna.

Capped five times by his country, Jelavic has just one year left to run on his contract. He scored 18 times in 33 league matches last campaign, finding the net nine times in 12 Europa League games.

This season he has continued his scoring form in Europe, scoring twice against Lithuanians Suduva Marijampole in the second qualifying round of the Europa League in a 6-2 aggregate victory.

Because of his involvement in European competition already this season, Jelavic would not be eligible to play in the Champions League for Rangers unless they reached the last 16, should Rapid Vienna subsequently qualify for the group stages of the Europa League.

Players can play in qualifying round games for one club and then the group stages for another if their previous club are eliminated in the preliminary stages. However, if Rapid Vienna went on to reach the Europa League groups, Rangers would not be able to register the player for European action until the knockout stages of the Champions League, if they were to reach them.

NIKICA JELAVIC'S PREVIOUS SCOTTISH EXPERIENCES

Furthermore, if Rangers dropped into the Europa League knockout stages by finishing third in their Champions League group, Jelavic would not be able to play in Europe for the Glasgow club if Rapid were Europa League group stage participants.

Rule 18.07 of Uefa's rules on player eligibility in the Champions League and Europa League states: "As a rule, a player may not play in a Uefa club competition (i.e. Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League, but not Uefa Super Cup) for more than one club in the course of the same season.

"Exceptionally, however, a player who has been fielded in the first, second or third qualifying round of the Uefa Champions League or Uefa Europa League is entitled to play in the Uefa Champions League or Uefa Europa League for another club as from the group stage, provided that his former club did not qualify for the group phase of either the Uefa Champions League or the Uefa Europa League."

Blackburn were reportedly interested in taking him to the English top flight in June, reuniting him with former Hadjuk Split strike partner Nikola Kalinic.