How Rangers could land an instant Neil upgrade

Glasgow Rangers bolstered their midfield options earlier this week when the Ibrox giants officially confirmed the signing of Dan Neil on a free transfer.

Derek McInnes has now brought in Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, and Neil since arriving to replace Danny Rohl in the dugout, after Lawrence Shankland had already been signed from his former club Hearts.

The English midfielder joined after his contract with Premier League side Sunderland expired at the start of this month, allowing the Gers to snap him up without having to pay a transfer fee.

He won promotion to the Premier League in both of the last two Championship campaigns, on loan at Ipswich last term and with the Black Cats in the 2024/25 season.

The 24-year-old star will now be hoping to establish himself as a regular starter at Ibrox and play European football for the first time in his entire career.

Rangers are in talks to sign £5m midfielder

Neil, however, does not arrive as a guaranteed starter for McInnes. He only started eight of his 16 appearances for Ipswich and did not start a single match for Sunderland at league level last season.

The Englishman’s lack of game time in the 2025/26 campaign may be why the Scottish Premiership giants are still looking to add another player in his position.

According to the Daily Record, Glasgow Rangers are interested in a deal to sign Partizan central midfielder Vanja Dragojevic in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Light Blues are in ongoing talks with the Serbian side over a deal to sign the 20-year-old starlet to bolster McInnes’ options in the middle of the park.

It adds that the Gers have already made an offer of around £3.8m to sign the Serbia international, but Partizan are looking for a fee that is closer to £5m for their captain.

The Daily Record also reveals that the club’s pursuit of the £5m-rated talent does not have any impact on their interest in signing Lewis Ferguson from Bologna.

What this Rangers move means for Dan Neil

With, as it stands, Nicolas Raskin, Tochi Chukwuani, and Connor Barron already in the building, Neil has joined the Light Blues with a lot of competition in midfield.

The former Sunderland man’s struggle for game time at the Stadium of Light and Portman Road last season does not suggest that he is primed to win the race for a starting berth, particularly given the club’s interest in Dragojevic.

Looking at their respective performances in the 2025/26 campaign, the Serbian star could join with a greater chance of making an instant impact as a starter for McInnes.

Dragojevic was far more effective in his displays in the Superliga for Partizan than Neil was in the Championship for Ipswich, as he offered more as an attacking threat and as a defensive force out of possession.

The Serbia international, who made his national team debut in May, could provide more quality at the top end of the pitch with more goals and more creativity from a midfield position, which makes him more likely to be a difference-maker.

His defensive numbers are also superior to Neil’s at league level in the 2025/26 campaign, and they come after he also averaged 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game and won 56% of his duels in the Superliga in his first season at senior level.

Dragojevic, who was described as a “continually improving” star by analyst Kai Watson, is four years younger than Neil and already looks like a better central midfielder who can make a greater impact on and off the ball for the Scottish giants.

That means that the free signing from Sunderland could struggle to make the starting line-up on a regular basis because the club are already in talks to sign an upgrade on him less than a week into his career at Ibrox.

He still has pre-season to prove his qualities to the manager and there is no guarantee that the Gers sign Dragojevic, but the fact that the Light Blues are looking at more midfielders suggests that they are not happy with the quality or depth of their current group.