Haris Vuckic Left Newcastle For Rangers To "Play With Men"

The attacking-midfielder wanted first-team football - and now Nottingham Forest are interested.

By Chris Waugh /

Newcastle United attacking-midfielder Haris Vuckic decided Rangers was the "perfect move" for him - because he wanted the opportunity to play football "with men" and not in the Under-21 league. The 22-year-old attacking-midfielder, whose form has been so impressive that Nottingham Forest have now shown an interest, maintains he wanted to play Premier League football for the Magpies but was not given the opportunity to. Instead, Newcastle interim head coach John Carver told Vuckic he should go out on loan - and so the Slovenian international decided to gain experience in the Scottish Championship with Rangers.
Vuckic, who has scored nine goals and contributed three assists in 17 matches since moving to Rangers in February, told the Daily Record:
"It has helped my career as I never got the opportunity to play regularly at Newcastle. I played for the Under-21s but that is not my level - I want to go and play with the men. So coming to Rangers was the perfect move even though I was sceptical at the start. "I wanted to play for the Newcastle first team but I spoke to John Carver and his advice was to go and play, get 20 games, before we see what happens in the summer. "I wasn€™t sceptical because Rangers were in the Scottish Championship, I just wanted to play in the Premier League for Newcastle. I felt I could play there and do more at the club. "I had injuries in pre-season and it was hard to show I could do it with a knee injury. But at Rangers I got the chance to play every weekend and scored goals."
With just a year remaining on his Magpies contract, Vuckic's future could well lie away from Tyneside - and Championship side Notts Forest are looking to take him on loan next season as they target a push for promotion to the Premier League. Rangers could also look to extend Vuckic's deal into another season, but the attacking-midfielder maintains that he does not know where his future lies. He continued:
"There are all kinds of €combinations which could happen but I don€™t know anything about my future at the moment. Everything can happen. When we know where both clubs are I can decide on my future. But it will all depend on what Newcastle have to say, they are the ones who will to decide. "I still have to respect Newcastle because I still have a year left on my contract. In the summer, I will have options and I will pick the best one for me. "If that is Rangers... I have been enjoying it here, the fans like me and I like it here so that will be a good option to stay. I don't know if there would be a fee involved - I will know more about it in the summer."
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