Rangers Keep £4.6m Star In January: Is It The Right Call?

Rangers Keep £4.6m Star In January: Is It The Right Call? Derek McInnes has spent the autumn building Rangers around a midfield partnership that now looks hard to shift. Nicolas Raskin and Dan Neil have started the bulk of the Premiership games during a domestic unbeaten run that has passed a dozen matches, and that sequence has Rangers chasing leaders Celtic after an August that brought two European exits. A settled starting XI means a crowded bench, and one summer signing has felt that more than most. The 20-year-old Serbian arrived from Partizan Belgrade in July as a club captain on a four-year contract. He scored a long-range goal in the Premier Sports Cup in August, then lasted an hour in the second leg in Jablonec before McInnes replaced him. The numbers since have been stark. He has made one Premiership appearance, 45 minutes against Hibernian on August 9, and played four minutes in the League Cup win over Celtic. Tochi Chukwuani got the second-half call when McInnes wanted fresh legs in the 4-0 win over St Johnstone in October. There is still plenty to like. Dragojevic strikes the ball cleanly from distance, led Partizan as captain and played 35 Serbian league games last season, scoring four goals and adding three assists. The doubts centre on the physical side, because McInnes demanded more in duels and second balls after Jablonec. What have Rangers decided on Vanja Dragojevic? Rangers still have no plan to send Vanja Dragojevic out on loan in January, according to an exclusive from Pete O’Rourke at Football Insider. The club paid around £4.6m for him and always expected a period of adjustment to a new country and league. The hierarchy still sees him as an important part of the Ibrox project who can compete for a starting place. Is keeping Dragojevic the right call for Rangers? GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – AUGUST 20: Vanja Dragojevic of Rangers warms up prior to the UEFA Conference League 2026/27 Play Off Round First Leg match between Rangers and Jablonec at Ibrox Stadium on August 20, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) Yes, but only if McInnes gives him real football. A loan would not solve the problem, because Rangers have no European fixtures to rotate through and a spell elsewhere would simply postpone the verdict on a £4.6m investment. Raskin and Neil have played almost every minute, so an injury to either would leave Rangers leaning on an unproven understudy during a title chase. The sensible route is controlled exposure. Cup ties and comfortable league wins should give him starts alongside one regular, so McInnes can judge his tackling against Premiership opponents rather than guess. If he has made no progress by March, a summer loan or sale would make more sense than another January on the bench.