Andy Halliday explains why Vanja Dragojevic has struggled at Rangers

Andy Halliday has delivered a rather damning assessment of Vanja Dragojevic, suggesting the young midfielder may simply not be good enough to earn regular opportunities at Rangers.

The Serbian arrived at Ibrox from Partizan Belgrade during the summer transfer window in a reported £4.7 million deal, with Derek McInnes keen to strengthen his midfield options.

Rangers also recruited Cammy Devlin and Dan Neil, while Nicolas Raskin and Tochi Chukwuani remained ahead of Dragojevic in the competition for places.

However, the 20-year-old has struggled to establish himself since arriving in Scotland. Despite making seven appearances across all competitions, he has featured just once in the Scottish Premiership.

His last outing came as a substitute during Rangers’ 3-0 Premier Sports Cup victory over Celtic on September 14, and he has not played a single minute since.

McInnes had previously handed him a starting opportunity in the disappointing Conference League defeat to Jablonec in August, but the midfielder has found regular involvement difficult to come by.

Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, former Rangers midfielder Halliday suggested there could be a straightforward explanation for Dragojevic’s continued absence from the team.

Halliday pointed out that Rangers spent a considerable amount to bring the youngster to Ibrox but questioned whether he had done enough to justify that investment.

He suggested that supporters might be wondering why Dragojevic has not been given more opportunities, but believes McInnes has already seen enough in training and during matches to make his decision.

In Halliday’s assessment, the manager simply does not believe the Serbian is currently good enough to feature regularly.

That is a particularly worrying verdict for Dragojevic, considering Rangers made a significant financial commitment to secure his services only a few months ago.

With several midfielders competing for limited opportunities, the youngster now faces a difficult challenge to convince McInnes that he deserves another chance.

For Rangers supporters, the bigger question is whether Dragojevic can eventually justify the reported £4.7 million investment or whether his first season at Ibrox is turning into a disappointing one.