Hannover 96 defender Vladimir Rankovic has been loaned out to 2.Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue, it was confirmed on Monday.
The young right-back arrived at the Lower Saxony side in the summer, from Bayern Munich, and was was expected to provide competition to Hiroki Sakai. That never materialised and Rankovic has instead been used in Hannover's second team in the Regionalliga Nord.
"It certainly makes sense, if he goes to a club where his chances of getting game time is higher," commented Hannover Sporting Director, Dirk Dufner. 2.Bundesliga strugglers Aue is his destination for the remainder of the season. With the East German club bottom of the table and having conceded the fourth-highest goals in the division.
It's a strange decision to head to Aue, especially with club captain René Klingbeil and Fabian Müller already two established right-backs at the side. However, with Müller now playing in a more advanced role and coach Tomislav Stipic keen to experiment, it could yet allow Rankovic some game time.