THE MIDFIELD PUZZLE
THE MIDFIELD PUZZLE:
At the end of the last season there was always going to be a root and branch review following the post-split implosion losing four of the five games.
Although there are glaring areas for attention within the squad such as left back, centre back and wings (right in particular), it is the midfield that seems to have gained the attention of the pitchfork.
Although there was clear talent in midfield last season the players aligned to it, except for Connor Barron, all seemed to morph into similar attributes without a player who could take the responsibility of either slowing or accelerating the tempo of the game in the vein of a traditional number six.
As always time will tell, however the first midfield signing Dan Neil from Sunderland could address this dilemma and has obvious leadership skills having captained Sunderland at 22 and led them to winning the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley in May 2025 in defeating Sheffield United 2-1 and therefore obtaining Premier League status.
There have been questions if Neil’s transfer is a ‘McInnes signing’ as it is widely known that Rangers have been monitoring the Wearsiders movements for a number of months, however this was dispelled during Neil’s interviews in which he explained that McInnes had contacted him several times on his appointment to explain that he saw him as an integral part of his new Rangers squad make up.
The second midfield signing Cammy Devlin is well known to Ranger’s supporters having played 171 games for Hearts over five seasons having joined from Newcastle Jets in his native Australia. Although a defensive midfielder like Neil, his main strengths is an ability to win tackles and carry out interceptions. However, his passing accuracy should not be underestimated as only four SPL midfielders were more accurate in passing distribution last season. Although small in stature at 5ft 7” he packs a heavyweight punch on the field.
There are two further targets that seem tangible based on reliable sources, the first is 6ft, 20-year-old Serbian Vanja Dragojevic who plays for FK Partizan and was entrusted with the captain’s armband despite his age and relative lack of experience. He falls like Neil and Devlin in the defensive midfielder category and shows no lack of confidence demanding the ball and making tackles. Rangers by all accounts have tabled an offer of approximately £3.8 million, whilst the Sebian club value him nearer the £5million mark.
The second midfield target is Norwegian 20-year-old Jens Hjerto Dahl who stands at 6ft 4” and plays for Tromso in Norway. By nature, he has a far more attacking profile than the other aforementioned midfielders and has played over 100 senior games already contributing 17 goals and 11 assists. A price tag of £8.5 million has been stated by Tromso and Rangers have offered initially a figure of approximately £5.5 million.
So, with Neil and Devlin in at Ibrox and active pursuits of Dragojevic and Dahl where does this leave the current squad of midfielders?
Excluding Neil and Devlin, Rangers now have a further seven midfielders on the books and non are loan players , these being: Raskin, Chukwuani, Diomande, Barron, Aasgaard, Cameron, Nsio and Bajrami.
Even though Derek McInnesis is likely to use a 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1-1 version) it is patently obvious that several of these players will need to be offloaded as they are surplus to requirements, all of them (except for Nsio-one year left) have at least 2 years left on their contracts. As well as identifying new players for season 2026-27, this will be a key focus for Andrew Cavenagh, Jim Gillespie, Dan Purdy, Stig Inge Bjorneby and Derek McInnes to accrue transfer fees and terminate monthly wages.
One thing is for sure, this season will see a completely different midfield personnel and set up and the indecisive and inconsistent efforts of last season are surely a thing of the distant past?
Marcus
HATW 1872
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