Rangers new boy's Tavernier confession, four month Ibrox dream and the 'Eternal derby' that influenced move

Nedeljkovic, 20, completed a season-long move to Rangers on Wednesday, and made his debut for the club as a late substitute, replacing Djeidi Gassama for the final moments of the 1-0 first-leg win over Jablonec in the Conference League playoffs at Ibrox.

An £8million signing for Aston Villa in January 2024 from Red Star Belgrade, the full-back spent time on loan with RB Leipzig last year, but is now ready to play a major role in Rangers' new era and fill the void left by departing captain James Tavernier, who exited the club earlier this summer following the expiry of his contract.

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“The first contact with the club was in April,” said Nedeljkovic. “From then we started communication every month, every week, consistently. I chose Rangers because it's such a big club. We will fight for the title. We hopefully can play in Europe. After I spoke with the manager, I take this decision because I think we play football how I want to play - attacking with transitions. I think this style of football, is amazing for me.

“When I moved from Serbia, let's say to international football at Villa for six months, I had 10 official games, so it's not bad, then I moved to Leipzig for six months, which was amazing because I played every game. Last year it was tough because I had one injury with my knee [at the start of the season] and I wasn’t playing for two and a half months. Rangers is a big club, I can progress here. We can fight for the title, this is a big club.

“I want to play for the club who is always every attacking every game. It's a pleasure to be here. Ibrox is one of the famous and popular stadiums in the world. This was a big desire to play here, it was amazing atmosphere, so I'm very happy to make my debut for this amazing club, and we are going to go step by step.

“Everyone knows James Tavernier so of course I watched Rangers before. I know he was here 10 years or more. I don't feel the pressure because I just focus on myself, but how he played his style of football, I really like, so I want to dominate defensively, but also to have a lot of assists and goals. I want to be like him in the final third.”

The second Serbian international to sign for Rangers this summer, the young defender admits he sought the advice of long-time friend and opponent, Vanja Dragojevic, who had moved to the club from Partizan Belgrade earlier this summer. The pair were rivals on the opposite side of the Serbian capital as teenagers, battling each other for local bragging rights in what is known as the ‘Eternal derby’, but are now teammates with the national team.

"I spoke already with Vanja because we know each other from Serbia,” said Nedeljkovic. “He helped me to take this decision. We’ve known each other the last 10 years. In Serbia, we play on the opposite sides, but now when we are in the Scotland, we are good friends. We grew up together."

The Serbian youngster also confessed he had a discussion with Scotland international - and self confessed Celtic fan - John McGinn, though he opted not to divulge the conversion he shared with the Aston Villa captain, saying with a smile: “It's difficult question...but yeah, we already spoke about Rangers.”