Derek McInnes has faced no shortage of tactical puzzles since taking the reins at Rangers, but his latest curveball has brought one of the club’s summer investments into sharp focus.

While the Ibrox manager navigates a bustling calendar and seeks the right formula in the engine room, heavy-outlay acquisitions continue to bide their time away from the starting XI.

That dynamic was thrown into clear relief during the 1-0 League Cup semi-final triumph over Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday, 31 October. In a move that caught supporters by surprise, McInnes opted to deploy natural left-back James Penrice in central midfield, leaving recognised midfield options cooling their heels on the substitutes’ bench.

Though Penrice applied himself diligently before shifting back to his preferred flank to help engineer Ryan Naderi’s decisive late winner, the decision to draft a full-back into the centre of the pitch highlighted a stark reality regarding Vanja Dragojevic’s ongoing absence from the Rangers team.

Vanja Dragojevic has not played Premiership football for Rangers in 85 days

Dragojevic’s last starting appearance for Rangers came back on 27 August during the disastrous UEFA Conference League qualifier defeat against Jablonec in Czechia. Since that night, the 20-year-old former Partizan Belgrade captain has effectively vanished from senior action, featuring just once off the bench in a 3-0 League Cup victory against Celtic.

It has now been an astonishing 85 days since Dragojevic last stepped foot on the pitch in a Scottish Premiership match, either as a starter or as a substitute. His last league appearance came in the 2-1 defeat against Hibernian on 9 August, when he was deployed as a right-back.

When McInnes opted to field a left-back in central midfield rather than turn to a player who commanded a £4.7million transfer fee, questions inevitably arose as to why the Serbian international prospect, who rejected moves to Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt, remains cast aside as a bystander.

Ibrox staff still consider Dragojevic ‘very raw’

However, reporting from Calum Crowe in the Daily Mail has provided key clarity regarding the internal picture at Ibrox.

According to the report, the word from within Rangers is that senior staff and coaching personnel still view the 20-year-old as an undeniable technical talent, but accept that he remains exceptionally raw in his adaptation to Scottish football:

The word from Rangers is that the 20-year-old midfielder, who captained Partizan Belgrade, is a talent but still very raw. That’s fine. But he is not going to develop if he doesn’t play any football.

Alongside £4.3m January recruit Tochi Chukwuani, who has similarly struggled for starting minutes since the Jablonec tie, Dragojevic finds himself trapped in a tactical catch.

While McInnes prioritises established stability to sustain Rangers’ domestic ambitions, the coaching staff face the challenge of refining Dragojevic’s physical and tactical game behind closed doors. Whether the youngster can bridge that gap and earn McInnes’ trust before the January window opens remains one of the most intriguing subplots at Ibrox.