Rangers have raised their offer for FK Partizan midfielder V. Dragojevic to £4.6m after earlier bids of £3.8m and £4m were rejected, with sources confident of wrapping up the deal. The improved package includes a 10% sell-on clause, a structural addition that breaks the negotiating deadlock. Dragojevic, a Serbia international and former Partizan captain, is expected to become Derek McInnes' seventh summer recruit as the Scottish club reshapes its midfield.

Breaking the deadlock

The escalation from £3.8m to £4.6m reflects McInnes' urgency to address a midfield that crumbled down the stretch. Rangers won only one of their last five league matches, a 5-2 victory over Falkirk, with defeats to Hibernian, Celtic, Hearts and Motherwell exposing defensive weaknesses McInnes believes Dragojevic can help shore up. The club sits third in the Scottish Premiership on 72 points from 38 matches after a campaign of 20 wins, 12 draws and 6 losses, a position that underscores the gap Rangers face to the division's title contenders.

Partizan held firm through two rejected offers before the revised terms moved talks toward resolution. The sell-on clause offered Rangers financial flexibility while preserving asset value for Belgrade, a compromise both parties appear satisfied with. Partizan's parallel pursuit of Timothy Ouma from Slavia Prague as Dragojevic's replacement signals their acceptance of the exit.

Hjerto-Dahl opportunity fades

Concurrent with the Dragojevic push, Rangers' interest in Norwegian playmaker Jens Hjerto-Dahl has stalled, creating an opening for Cardiff City to advance their case. Tromso chief Lars Petter Kraemer-Andressen said: "If he's going to move on, it has to be a club Jens wants to go to and we also have pretty high expectations for the price." Cardiff have tabled a £5.5m offer for the £8.5m-rated 20-year-old, substantially outbidding Rangers' earlier £5.3m approach.

With Dragojevic expected to finalize and Hjerto-Dahl slipping away, McInnes faces the task of integrating summer signings Pandur, Neil, Shankland and Devlin into a cohesive midfield. If the £4.6m package succeeds where £3.8m and £4m fell short, Rangers' reshaped engine enters immediate scrutiny in upcoming Scottish Premiership fixtures.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →