Derek McInnes quiet on ‘obvious’ Lewis Ferguson link to Rangers

Rangers boss Derek McInnes refused to be drawn on links with a move for Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson but said he is willing to be “patient” to get the players he wants.

Gers have already recruited Lawrence Shankland, Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, Dan Neil and Ivor Pandur this summer, with goalkeeper Jack Butland sealing his move to Hull on Thursday.

As his summer rebuild gathers pace, McInnes has been credited with an interest in Bologna midfielder Ferguson, with whom he worked at Aberdeen.

“All I want to do is bring players of a high level, technical level, and ability to play for Rangers,” the manager told Sky Sports.

“Obviously, there are a number of players that have been linked with us that do possess that, so I think it would be wrong for me to speak about any player individually.

“I understand it’s an obvious link [with Lewis Ferguson], but we have just got to work away and see what we can do and what we can bring into the club.

“If it’s clear that we can’t bring people in, then we move on quickly, but I’ve got an idea of the players and the types I want to bring in, and hopefully we can work towards that.”

Expanding further on his recruitment plans, McInnes said: “We want to be as strong as we can for the first game against Dundee United.

“So, there’s a lot of work to do, both physically, integration of players, getting the players up to match speed, and also a lot of work to do to try and bring players in as quickly as possible.

“Sometimes you need to wait for the better ones, and we need to just be patient at times, as well as still being forthright in our intentions.”

Bologna are among the clubs linked with Gers midfielder Nico Raskin, who is currently preparing to play in the last 16 of the World Cup with Belgium.

Asked if he anticipated interest in the 25-year-old, McInnes said: “Yes, possibly, but these are things that I don’t know, that you can’t control.

“The World Cup is a great stage and obviously Nico has done well. There will be natural progression for a lot of players.

“A lot of players aren’t going to get guaranteed game time here, and they might be better served going elsewhere to find that, but these discussions are ongoing.

“There’s no doubt we’ve got good players here who could be of interest.”

McInnes is in no rush to appoint a new captain following James Tavernier’s departure.

“I’m actually quite relaxed about it at the minute,” he said. “I’m trying to fill the dressing room with a lot of captains.

“Then, I’ll have the benefit and the luxury of being able to choose one. At the minute we’re a long way from making that decision. I’d like to think we’re going to get a number of good, viable options who can take that role on.”