Liam Keen
Published6th Apr 2026, 08:00 BST
As part of Wolves’ winter transfer window rescue act in 2025, Nasser Djiga was brought in as a deadline day addition.
Signed for £10million from Red Star Belgrade, the centre-back arrived with plenty of promise.
But he was unable to have an immediate impact and made just six first team appearances, with mixed results.
Last summer Wolves chose to send Djiga out loan and he has cut his teeth at Rangers in Scotland, so far making 35 appearances in all competitions.
We spoke to Graham Falk, sports journalist at The Scotsman, for an insight into Djiga’s performances.
Overall, how would you rate Djiga's loan at Rangers?
Djiga's time at Rangers has followed a similar trajectory of the club itself.
The fact he had joined from a Premier League club, and had cost £10million, I think there was a little bit of expectation when he first arrived and he definitely struggled in the opening months of the season.
Rangers' spell under Russell Martin went disastrously, and Djiga was sent off in just his second game against Dundee. That left a bit of a mark, and he looked prone to making errors.
But as the months have gone by, and Danny Rohl had made them a little more sturdy defensively, he had also improved. He was given the nod to start against Celtic in the Scottish Cup quarter-final earlier this month over John Souttar, who has been a regular for several seasons, and was comfortably one of Rangers' best players. They lost on penalties after a 0-0 draw, but he barely put a foot wrong.
He's got a chance now to keep his place for the final seven games of the season, and looks much more comfortable alongside Emmanuel Fernandez at the back in the last few weeks. Rangers fans have noticed too.
He basically really struggled, then went on international duty with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations and seemed to return a different player. He has started 10 games and has improved his overall levels.
Has he been able to hold down a place and play regularly?
He started as first choice and fell out of the team due to a combination of form and injury.
He was paired with Souttar at the start, but Fernandez took his place and never lost it from November onwards. He's more recently been paired with Fernandez.
What position/formation has he best been used in?
From memory, he's played exclusively at centre-back.
How has he adapted to the physicality of the SPL?
It was more his concentration at the start of the season.
He seemed to just switch off and allow strikers in when he shouldn't have. He's definitely improved that in recent weeks and switched himself back on.
He's a big lad, fast and powerful. The physicality hasn't been too much of a problem.
What have been his biggest strengths and biggest weaknesses?
His biggest strengths are his aggressiveness, and his style of front-foot defending.
He's physical and strong, and had improved his composure on the ball and bringing it out of defence.
His concentration definitely needs work, though. While it has improved, you could feel the tension from the stands when a striker was pressing him in the early throws of the campaign.
If he returned to Wolves, how would he suit a Championship campaign next season?
The Championship is a tough old slog. We've seen players from Scotland go to the Championship (and Premier League) and flourish, and we've seen some struggle.
On the flip side, we've seen good Championship players come here and fall to pieces. So it's a tough one to answer.
Essentially, he has all the tools to become a very good defender at that level, if not more. But he isn't the finished article yet, from what Rangers fans have seen. A raw talent, I think.
Would Rangers have any interest in keeping him for next season?
Danny Rohl has praised his form recently, but I can't see Rangers splashing the cash that it would take to bring him to Ibrox permanently.
Wolves paid £10million and, while he might grow into that fee, he isn't there yet and I can't see Rangers opting to bring him at even half that cost.
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