Derek McInnes confirms 'nothing imminent' on Rangers transfer front as key updates given on Raskin and Kelsy

Derek McInnes finally had something to smile about as Rangers claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie, giving the Ibrox boss his first Premiership win and some much-needed breathing room.

The result came at a crucial moment for the Ibrox boss, who had faced mounting scrutiny following Rangers’ humiliating European exit to Jablonec on penalties earlier in the week. Their early-season form had increased the pressure, but Lawrence Shankland’s second-half penalty secured three valuable points against McInnes’ former club.

Shankland’s 69th minute spot-kick came after Djeidi Gassama was brought down in the penalty area. Rangers had to withstand a late push from the hosts, with Aberdeen appearing to equalise through Kevin Nisbet. However, VAR ruled the goal out after deciding that Nisbet had fouled Dujon Sterling in the build-up.

For McInnes, the clean sheet and improved performance were just as important as the result. Rangers looked far more organised than they had done in the Czech Republic just three days earlier.

McInnes said: “It’s an important three points, for obvious reasons. I thought we were good in the game, we looked like a team - a sense of the team that I would like us to be. I thought we dealt with Aberdeen’s physicality, the effort was first-class, and on the back of playing 120 minutes on Thursday, the travelling and everything else, the players were in brilliant condition.

“We dug deep. It’s been a tough couple of days, but we got our reward today. Probably for the first time this season, I really enjoyed watching the team. There have been moments of enjoyment, a couple of wins and some passages of play, but we know when we come here that you can’t be sparkling for 90 minutes. You need to compete and bring quality, and I thought we did all that.”

Summer signing Cammy Devlin impressed in midfield in the continued absence of Nicolas Raskin. The Belgian international’s future remains one of the main talking points surrounding the club as the transfer window approaches its conclusion.

Having missed the European trip to Jablonec, Raskin also sat out of the trip to the North East and McInnes confirmed post-match that there had been no formal bids for the player as of yet, although he acknowledged that the situation could change rapidly.

“Nico may be one that moves on,” McInnes said when asked if he was expecting any more incomings or outgoings ahead of Thursday’s deadline. “I spoke to Jim [Gillespie] yesterday in the recruitment team. In terms of outs, I don’t think there’s anything imminent. Obviously, it’s normally the last couple of days of the window when things really crank up, so we need to be primed for that.”

Rangers have also moved to strengthen their attack with a £9.5 million deal for Venezuelan striker Kevin Kelsy from Portland Timbers close to completion as the Govan giants look to compensate for the loss of Youssef Chermiti following his ACL injury.

“In terms of ones coming in, it’s been a while now since Youssef went down against Hibs, so we’re really keen and eager to get the striker in that we want,” McInnes added. “Again, it has taken a bit longer for reasons that aren’t the club’s fault, but we all know the importance of bringing in that quality at the top end of the pitch. I think you see a wee flavour of that today.

“To be honest, it was the team that I kind of hope we can be. We just need to show our teeth a bit more as an attacking Rangers team, and I thought we had people in good positions to do that.”

Rangers have been extremely active in the market, with McInnes bringing in a significant number of new additions. South Korean winger Kim Min-su made his debut against Aberdeen after joining from Girona in a deal worth around £8.5 million and the 20-year-old showed encouraging signs before being substituted in the second half.

“I think the added quality from Minsu at the top end of the pitch was much needed,” McInnes said. “We’ve been looking for that for a while now. It was great that we managed to get him in. I thought it was a great debut, considering he only trained yesterday.”

Interest continues to grow in fellow attacker Gassama, who won the penalty that decided the Aberdeen clash. Fresh reports indicate that Red Bull Salzburg have made an offer for the winger, while other clubs have displayed an interest.

With the deadline fast approaching, the next few days could prove decisive for both McInnes and Rangers.

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