Vanja Dragojevic’s transfer to Rangers has taken a major leap forward in Serbia, with FK Partizan Belgrade completely removing their club captain from matchday duties to protect his impending move to Ibrox.
The 20-year-old midfielder is currently locked in serious negotiations over a summer switch to Glasgow after the Light Blues made a £3.8million bid last week.
Serbian media outlet Telegraf revealed on Sunday that the midfield general has been placed on a ‘special regime’ during training sessions, operating as a non-contact ‘joker’ during tactical drills to eliminate any risk of accidental injury.
However, the Belgrade heavyweights have now taken their precautionary measures to an absolute extreme ahead of their friendly clash against Azerbaijani outfit Nefci Baku on Monday.
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Despite initially planning to simply restrict his minutes, Partizan decision-makers and head coach Sasa Ilic have made the definitive call to completely withdraw Dragojevic from the matchday squad today.
Because the midfielder is heavily involved in negotiations over a transfer to Rangers, the Serbian club refuse to leave anything to chance.
They recognise that a stray tackle or a muscular tear at this stage could completely collapse a lucrative international move to Rangers.
Since Dragojevic is the official club captain and cannot feature, the coaching staff have been tasked with selecting a temporary stand-in to wear the armband for the afternoon.
Milan Roganovic and Milan Vukotic are the leading candidates to lead the side out in his absence.
Clearing the runway for Rangers
This level of heavy bubble-wrapping is the clearest indication yet that a formal resolution with Rangers is on the horizon.
Clubs rarely pull their star midfielder and captain entirely from pre-season exhibition fixtures unless a transfer package has reached its final stages.
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Partizan are executing an identical blueprint with Ognjen Ugresic, who has also been pulled from the squad to protect parallel transfer negotiations with Serie A side Bologna.
Derek McInnes is keen to add presence, technical quality, and natural leadership to his engine room before the domestic campaign fires into life.
By leaving Dragojevic out of the picture today, Partizan have effectively cleared the runway for their skipper to finalise his highly anticipated relocation to Scotland.
