So Rangers’ main summer target Vanja Dragojevic is now finally in Govan, but what do most fans know of him?
Honestly, the bulk of supporters only know him by his name, and the length of time it took to secure his signature.
But Ibrox Noise now takes you through a full guide of exactly what we have.
Vanja Bio
Basics, Vanja is just 20. The same age Barry Barry was when he was propelled to Rangers’ first team.
He’s got 54 appearances in defensive midfield for Partizan Belgrade, and was captain for 34 of them. Despite the conspiracy nonsense you’ve probably heard online, he was indeed Partizan’s captain.
He cost Rangers around £4.5M but that was a knockdown price because Partizan had to sell. Their finances aren’t good and they lost Drago for below market price. Significantly below.
Now, what kind of player?
The main crux is he’s not quite a Barry Barry. He won’t necessarily put his foot on the ball and dictate play. He is much more of a Scott Brown, dare we say it. Strong, powerful, aggressive, and makes things happen. He can dominate midfield but in more of a crushing opponents kind of way.
Not so creative. In all honestly, probably not that different to Callum McGregor, frankly.
He has two caps for his country and captained Partizan to a Conference league qualifier win v Hibs last season.
In short, as one of the best-rated players in his position in Serbia, Rangers were keen for a robust, reliable, strong and capable DM to build around.
Dragojevic is believed to be that man.
This does show Derek McInnes’ philosophy. He wants strong capable bully players in midfield that will dominate that area.
He knows that Hearts and Celtic will seek to strengthen in those areas, and Rangers were already well below par there.
Crucially he and the club want sell-on assets that grow in value and can be sold at way higher than the purchase price. The trading model is important here.
Dragojevic isn’t here to be on the bench. He and Cammy Devlin will be starters.
But there will be a lot of variety in midfield choice, and Drago adds to that.