Joe Collins of the Hull and Back Podcast has provided a glowing endorsement of Ivor Pandur, the Croatia international who will be Rangers’ first-choice goalkeeper for the upcoming season.
The 26-year-old has signed a four-year deal at Ibrox, with Derek McInnes believing the Gers have acquired a player and a character who can be a long-term asset between the posts.
He will be pushed all the way by Liam Kelly, but the incoming Croatian will be the man in possession of the gloves after a £6 million deal was concluded on Tuesday.
Jack Butland is expected to complete his move in the opposite direction as part of an effective swap-plus-cash deal, with the timeline affected by Hull City’s PSR situation.
The Tigers were required to raise funds by the end of June, ahead of their return to the Premier League, and that has now been taken care of, with Pandur moving to Glasgow and Kyle Joseph swapping Humberside for Teesside.
The latter is expected to complete his move to Middlesbrough imminently.
What should Rangers fans expect from Ivor Pandur?
In conversation with This Is Ibrox, Hull City fan and podcaster Joe Collins provided the lowdown on the incoming goalkeeper.
His arrival in Glasgow will follow Croatia’s elimination from the World Cup, with Zlatko Dalic’s side set to take on Portgual in the round of 32 at midnight on Thursday into Friday.
He will have a holiday period before joining Derek McInnes’ squad, but hopefully he can follow in the footsteps of his compatriots who came before him, such as Dado Prso, Nikica Jelavic, and Borna Barisic.
Collins’ message was that “Evo Pandur, as a traditional, conventional goalkeeper, is phenomenal.
“Some of the saves he made in that 2024 season when we stayed up on goal difference in the Championship, Evo Pandur kept us in that league almost single-handedly.
“As a goalkeeper, and I’ve had conversations with Evo about this, he loves being busy and he loves being peppered with shots, because that’s when, in his head, that’s when he comes into his element and yeah, he was our player of the season that year, kept us in the league, and then was our number one all the way through this season as we got promoted to the Premier League.”
Ivor Pandur was a pivotal figure in the Tigers’ Wembley glory at the end of last season, becoming only the fourth goalkeeper in history to keep clean sheets in both play-off semi-finals and final.
He won’t see the promised land of the Premier League, but his reward is a move to the hotbed of football that is Glasgow and all the rewards and adulation that can be attained at Ibrox.
Hull fan laments losing Pandur to Rangers
Collins continued to say that Hull fans will be sad to see the back of Pandur, but his departure is a reality of promotion and the club’s newly established top-flight status.
“Yeah, we’re at peace with it because we know that going up to the Premier League, you’ve got to be – although you want to be loyal to the group of players that got you promoted – you also kind of can’t be, because the majority of them are not Premier League level.
“Ivo could have made a good crack at the Premier League for sure, just on his shot-stopping ability alone, but it’s the situation – I loathe to lose him – to lose such a great servant to the club, such a good character, such a good goalkeeper, but I have faith in our recruitment team that we can replace him with better.”
There have been some reservations and fears that Pandur, like Butland, struggles with his distribution and playing the ball out, but many have looked over that Hull often played very direct last season.
The Croatian would have been playing far more long passes and balls directly into midfield than the outgoing Butland, whose kicking was erratic at the best of times.
Let’s wait and see. The eye test will tell us everything we need to know, but this is a Keeper of ability and stature coming our way.
The full interview and details on Ivor Pandur can be viewed on This Is Ibrox YoutTube channel, posted above.
