Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ivor Pandur is with the Croatia squad at the World Cup finals
ByClive LindsayBBC Sport Scotland- Published5 minutes ago
Rangers have signed Croatia squad goalkeeper Ivor Pandur from Hull City for an undisclosed fee.
Current Ibrox number one Jack Butland is reportedly expected to move in the opposite direction in the coming days.
The 26-year-old Pandur, who is currently with his national squad at the World Cup, has signed a four-year contract with the Scottish Premiership club.
He exits Hull having made 48 appearances last season as Sergej Jakirovic's side won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs after finishing sixth in the Championship.
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Pandur, who has yet to earn a full international cap, joined the Tigers in January 2024 on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Dutch club Fortuna Sittard.
Rangers have taken advantage of Hull's need to sell some key players in order to clear their £6m Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) deficit and avoid a possible points deduction.
Pandur had started his career with local club Rijeka and spent three years with Hellas Verona in Italy before his move to the Netherlands in 2022.
Butland, who earned the last of his nine England caps in 2018, joined Rangers from Crystal Palace in October 2023. The 33-year-old has since made 157 appearances for the Ibrox club.
With his expected exit to Hull, it leaves Pandur to compete with Liam Kelly, who was with the Scotland squad at the World Cup, for the starting spot at Ibrox.
Early starter with shot-stopper reputation
Pandur made an early professional debut for top-flight outfit Rijeka at the age of just 19 having been a youth cap for his country.
It earned him a move to Serie A with Verona the following year, saving two penalties on his debut in a Coppa Italia win over Venezia.
However, he would only make 11 appearances there before joining Fortuna on loan with an option to buy and quickly established himself as first choice, as well as earning a permanent move to the Dutch top flight.
Only six months into a four-year contract, Pandur was sold to Hull and, although it took eight months for him to be handed his debut, he established himself as first choice thereafter.
His form dipped amid transfer speculation during his second season in Humberside, but he played in all but one of Hull's 46 Championship matches last term and became only the fourth goalkeeper in history to keep clean sheets in both play-off semi-finals and final.
With a reputation for being an excellent shot-stopper but less adept with the ball at his feet, Pandur kept 14 clean sheets last season in his 48 games, making 150 saves at a save percentage of 69.8% and 66 minutes per goal.
In comparison, Butland's 38 games yielded only two fewer clean sheets, making 104 saves at a higher save percentage of 70.7% and 79 minutes per goal.
The Englishman's four penalty saves were also two more than Pandur's.
