Rangers on the Verge of Signing Premier League Right-Back

At the end of last season, Rangers captain and stalwart, James Tavernier, departed the club after more than a decade at Ibrox. 

It was clear he would be missed, both in terms of his leadership and voice in the dressing room, but also on the pitch, particularly with his consistently excellent attacking output over the years. 

There is Dujon Sterling, but he has never convinced defensively, and certainly not in a back four. If the team are playing a four, then he is probably of more use as a right winger than at full back. Vanja Dragojevic had to fill in there against Hibs, and ten minutes in conceded a penalty. He was hooked at half time for Mohammed Diomande, who has since left the club. 

So, with all of that in mind, it is clear a reinforcement in that position was needed this window. Well, it looks like that will now happen. Indeed so, as Aston Villa correspondent for The Athletic, Jacob Tanswell, is reporting that Rangers are expected to sign Villa right-back, Kosta Nedeljkovic on an initial loan deal, with a £4m obligation to buy if he plays a certain amount of games, though the exact amount was not revealed. 

The Serbian international spent the past 18 months on loan at German side, RB Leipzig, where he struggled for game time. On top of that, he also missed a fair few games with injury last season, which is always a concern. 

Nevertheless, if he can stay fit, this feels like a decent signing. Again, it is so clear that another body was needed that in position - Derek McInnes basically had to play a wing back formation with wingers playing there in the Europa League qualifying second leg. And well, you know the rest. 

With James Penrice signing on loan from Greek side AEK Athens too, it is good that the club have addressed the situation at full-back. Both these signings are likely to be needed for the UEFA Conference League double header against Czech side FK Jablonec, so let's hope that Nedelijkovic can all be sorted in time for that one. You'd have thought he certainly will be the second leg, but the team need all the help they can get at Ibrox.

Hopefully this is not the last signing made this window. There is still a little two weeks to go before the deadline, so let's hope things continue to progress during that time.