The situation regarding the Kosta Nedeljković Rangers future is an intriguing one at Ibrox. Rangers, of course, signed the Serbian international from Aston Villa on loan with an option to buy for £4.5M, but the young defender has thus far found his minutes entirely limited and has barely featured at all.
Sadly for him, his only known and significant moment was a painful own goal, which thankfully Lawrence Shankland’s double cancelled out. Nevertheless, the Serbian is a promising talent who found his minutes at Aston Villa similarly limited and was unable to break through into the first team regularly.
Kosta Nedeljković Rangers future remains unclear
Ibrox Noise has been ready to discuss this topic with information regarding the Serbian international, but quite simply it slipped down our priorities. With Serbian media now reporting that he may leave in January, we would not be at all surprised if he does alongside his countryman Vanja Dragojević. Both players have barely featured since joining Rangers and we do not understand why either of them came in on the basis of playing.
That is to say, we can probably understand Nedeljković because Rangers desperately needed a right back, but the Vanja Dragojević one really did seem a mystery to us. There was big hype over this lad from Partizan, but in the end the midfielder has barely featured at all, with Derek McInnes always opting to go for other choices.
Nedeljković Rangers minutes remain limited
Nedeljković and indeed Dragojević are both talented players who have quality in abundance, but we are now approaching October and neither of them has featured much at all. This is not necessarily criticism because, of course, results of late have justified pretty much all the decisions Derek McInnes has been making.
Even if not all performances have sparkled, the results have been solid, barring that one defeat to Jablonec, which was of course very costly. Otherwise, the consistency is starting to appear. So sadly for poor Kosta, he and indeed countryman Vanja will just have to wait their turn or not get to feature at all.
Rangers future depends on opportunities for Kosta
The only justification for bringing in bench players is when the results are not sparkling, when there are too many draws or even the odd loss here and there and it is time for a change. Of course, you also need to have a squad deep enough to cope with injuries, which Rangers have certainly had this season already.
But it has not really affected defence or indeed midfield in their positions and for now other players are definitely preferred. The Kosta Nedeljković Rangers future therefore depends heavily on whether opportunities eventually arrive for the Serbian.
Kosta could leave in January
We would not be shocked at all if at least one of them did indeed leave Rangers in January. Nedeljković is, of course, on loan, so if other clubs, especially ones back in Serbia or elsewhere in Europe, take an interest in him, Rangers would be very unlikely to stand in his way. Media reports today claim he’s a hot property for some sides on mainland Europe.
For now, McInnes has little reason to change a side which is increasingly producing results. That leaves Nedeljković and Dragojević waiting patiently for opportunities which simply have not arrived.
The Kosta Nedeljković Rangers future could therefore become one to watch when the January window arrives. We will see how this one transpires.