Kosta Nedeljkovic insists he feels no pressure replacing James Tavernier at Rangers, saying he is ready to make the right-back position his own and fight for trophies.
The 20-year-old Serbian, who has joined on loan from Aston Villa, is the latest player tasked with filling the void left by the former captain, who departed in May. Nedeljkovic believes he is the perfect fit to replicate Tavernier's goals and assists from right-back over a 10-year period.
Embracing the challenge
Rather than shy away from the task, Nedeljkovic has embraced it. He knows all about Tavernier and the records he broke at Ibrox, but the youngster feels certain he can make the position his own ahead of Dujon Sterling and Ross McCrorie.
On top of that, Nedeljkovic wants to do what Tavernier only managed three times in a decade in Glasgow - win trophies. After chats with gaffer Derek McInnes, the Serbia international chose Rangers over other interested clubs due to the lure of silverware.
After just a few days in his new home, Nedeljkovic said: "Look, everyone knows who James Tavernier is. Of course, I watched Rangers before and I know he was a captain here for ten years of more. But I don't feel the pressure (of replacing him) because I just focus on myself."
Choosing Rangers
Nedeljkovic had first contact with Rangers back in April, and after speaking with the manager, he made his decision. He also spoke to new Rangers midfielder Vanja Dragojevic, who he knows from Serbia, which helped him decide.
The defender and Dragojevic - Rangers' new £4 million midfielder - were rivals in Belgrade at Red Star and Partizan, but now find themselves as team-mates in Glasgow. Nedeljkovic says that should help him settle into life at Rangers quickly.
He already knew about the stature of the club having watched them as a Red Star fan in their Europa League clash in 2022 when Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side reached the final in Seville. He recalled: "When Red Star played Rangers, I was in the stands, I watched the game in Belgrade. The first-leg was here at Ibrox. I remember VAR ruled out three goals for Red Star and Rangers won 3-0."
Next step in development
Nedeljkovic was signed by Villa from Red Star two years ago as a player with huge potential. He was loaned to Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig last term but a knee injury hampered his progress. Villa gaffer Unai Emery used him in pre-season and he was on the bench for the Super Cup Final defeat to PSG.
Ahead of Thursday night's Conference League play-off second-leg against Jablonec in the Czech Republic, he said: "When I moved from Serbia, let's say, to international football, in Aston Villa after six months, I only had ten to 15 games. Then I moved to Leipzig, which was amazing because I played in every game. The last year has been tough because of injury and I didn't play for two-and-a-half months."
Asked if he received any advice or a good luck message from Villa captain and boyhood Celtic fan John McGinn about moving to Rangers, Nedeljkovic smiled and said: "That's a difficult question - but yeah, we spoke about Rangers."
