Rangers ace lifts lid on Ibrox 'traffic' as £3.4m ace reveals why European run gives belief ahead of Bellingham test

Rangers midfielder Nedim Bajrami says has no concerns over his Ibrox future, insisting he is ready and raring to go whenever interim head coach Barry Ferguson needs him.

The 26-year-old moved to Glasgow on deadline day last September, joining from Italian outfit Sassuolo for a fee of £3.4million, but has started just 12 league games since his arrival, while he is yet to be named in the starting line up since the appointment of Ferguson as head coach last month.

The Albanian international is expected to start as Kuqezinjtë begin their World Cup qualification campaign this evening with a tough trip to Wembley to face England. The game will mark the beginning of the Three Lions’ new era under ex-Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel, who is set to take charge of his first game since being named as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.

Ahead of the game, Bajrami insists there will be no sulking from him over his recent lack of minutes in Glasgow, revealing why Rangers’ dream fortnight form fills him with confidence as he prepares to face the likes of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice at a sold out Wembley this evening.

“I'm always ready and I've always trained hard,” said Bajrami. “I've had fewer minutes. I started the first six months well at Rangers, but that's part of football. It's normal that there is traffic when it comes to being a footballer. The competition is great at Rangers, so every player gives their best in training and the manager will decide. I'm always ready and I've always trained hard.”

Rangers' Hamza Igamane, Nedim Bajrami, Nicolas Raskin and Vaclav Cerny celebrate as Jack Butland saves the penalty of Dusan Tadic. | SNS Group

"We achieved a great victory to eliminate Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce in Europe. It gave us huge confidence and that's what I bring to the national team. England are playing very well, but all the boys are ready. The Euros were good but it is in the past and we must look forward. Our ambition is to qualify for the World Cup."

Meanwhile, his Rangers teammate Nicolas Raskin was rewarded for his impressive recent form at Ibrox by being handed his senior international debut for Belgium last night. The midfielder was introduced from the bench for the final 10 minutes of his side’s Nations League playoff first leg tie with Ukraine, replacing Juventus star Koni De Winter for the final throes of the game.

The 24-year-old provided some neat and crisp passing in his time on the pitch on a difficult night for the Belgium team as a whole, who saw three second-half goals cancel out Romelu Lukaku’s opener just before the break and condemned them to a surprise 3-1 defeat. The sides meet again on Sunday in Genk.

Alongside Bajrami, a number of other Rangers players are in international action this evening, with Hamza Igamane (Morocco), Bailey Rice (Scotland under-21s), Ianis Hagi (Romania) and Ross McCausland (Northern Ireland) all expected to play a part for their national teams this evening.

A full list of Rangers players on international duty this week - and when they play - is available here.