Rangers are pursuing a midfield double swoop that could see Serbian star Vanja Dragojevic join the club without ruling out a future move for Scotland international Lewis Ferguson. The Ibrox side made a bid of around £3.8 million for the 20-year-old Partizan Belgrade captain, but the Serbian club is holding out for an additional £1 million, with negotiations ongoing.
Dragojevic deal close but not final
Manager Derek McInnes is keen to add Dragojevic, who has two caps for Serbia, to his squad ahead of the new campaign. Despite already signing Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, McInnes wants more engine room reinforcements and sees the 6ft anchor man as the next piece of the jigsaw. Dragojevic has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Serbian SuperLiga and was recently named Partizan captain. He can also play at centre-back.
Rangers hope they have stolen a march on rivals for the highly-rated youngster. McInnes now has an abundance of midfield talent, with Neil joining Connor Barron, Nico Raskin, Mohamed Diomande, Tochi Chukwuani, Thelo Aasgaard, Lyall Cameron and Jose Cifuentes, although some of those players are destined for the Ibrox exit door this summer.
Ferguson remains a target
Winning the race for Dragojevic will not rule out a possible move for Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson, according to Record Sport. Rangers are keeping tabs on the 26-year-old's situation in Italy, with several top clubs weighing up a move after his impressive displays at the World Cup. McInnes had a huge influence on Ferguson's early career, taking him from Hamilton Academical to Aberdeen before his big move to Serie A.
Rangers have already snapped up Lawrence Shankland, Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, Ivor Pandur and Neil in this transfer window. Speaking on his transfer business so far, McInnes told reporters: "It’s been good. A lot of the conversations were ongoing before I came in, but getting things over the line isn’t always easy. People think it is easy to get signings done but normally when good players are involved, more than one team is involved too. The board and the recruitment team should be pleased with their work so far. Clearly, there is still more work to do but we are pleased so far. Getting the boys in early is vitally important too. Some signings will take a bit longer, which is just the way, but getting the early signings is important."
