Rangers: Powerful Teen Sensation Could Oust £2.2m Liability

Glasgow Rangers were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by their Old Firm rivals on Sunday and are now on course to end the campaign without a trophy to show for their efforts.

The Light Blues are 13 points behind their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with five games left to play, and a summer overhaul is on the cards at Ibrox.

Michael Beale is expecting a big "rebuild" in the transfer window and some first-team players could be moved on to make way for fresh recruits.

Borna Barisic, who joined the club for £2.2m in 2018, has been named by the Daily Record as a player who the Gers could cash in on, and he could be replaced by academy full-back Kevin Ciubotaru.

Is it time for Barisic to leave Rangers?

It could be the right time to ditch the Croatian dud after a series of questionable defensive performances in big games for the club in recent seasons.

Ex-Celtic winger Kris Commons criticised the left-back earlier this year, writing: "He nods off like a security guard trying to catch a quick nap on the night shift. It's just not acceptable at a club like Rangers.

"When Celtic do their analysis ahead of next month's final, you can guarantee they will identify Barisic as the weak link in this Rangers defence."

Commons also claimed that Celtic forwards have exposed Barisic as a "poor" defender and, at the age of 30, the battler does not have a lot of time to develop and improve that side of his game.

Who is Kevin Ciubotaru?

The Light Blues have a 19-year-old Romania youth international in their B team who is a natural left-back and has made 12 appearances in the Lowland League this season.

He has been called up by Romania at U15, U16, and U18 level and has been competing with Robbie Fraser for a starting berth in the development squad this season at Ibrox.

Although Fraser has been the first-choice, with 33 league appearances, Ciubotaru is a player with unearthed potential and could be someone who Beale is able to work with to develop into a first-team performer.

Kinetic academy co-founder Harry Hudson previously stated that the Romanian gem has an "exceptionally high ceiling" and described him by saying: "Very attack-minded. Powerful runner, good dribbler, gets forward well and contributes really well in the offensive phases."

The player himself also claimed that his style is like AC Milan star "Theo Hernandez", who has produced three goals and three assists in the Serie A this season from left-back, and these comments highlight the gem's untapped potential and illustrate the kind of player the head coach could unearth by bringing him into the fold.

Beale could place his trust in the quality of his academy options to come up and compete with Ridvan Yilmaz for a place at left-back in the first-team, which would allow him to ditch Barisic on a permanent basis this summer.