Philippe Clement has explained why Rangers defender Robin Propper starts on the bench for tonight's Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv.

Propper, 30, signed for the club last week from FC Twente in a deal worth £1.5million.

He was in the stands on Saturday as Clement's men drew 0-0 with Hearts at Tynecastle in the first game of the 2024/25 Premiership season

Read more: Check all the Rangers transfer news & rumours throughout the transfer window

And, speaking to RangersTV before the game, Clement explained his thinking behind not including the new arrival in tonight's team.

"We kept the same defence [as] the last half-hour against Hearts because they were doing well," he said.

"[It was a] tough decision to make not to start with Robin Propper but it is more because he is not fresh for the moment.

"People don't realise that, but if a player comes into the building these days when you come to the UK there is a lot of work to be done with papers. He even had to travel outside the country to come back to get his visa and things like that.

"So he is less fresh for the moment and we expect him to start the next couple of games. But today he was not fresh enough to start."

Meanwhile, Rangers will sell Ianis Hagi this summer, Clement has confirmed.

The manager of the Ibrox club was asked about the Romania international during tonight's pre-match press conference in Poland.

That came after Hagi played 45 minutes for the B team at the club's training centre back home in Glasgow this afternoon.

"No, we had clear talks before the pre-season with his agents about that," Clement said when asked if the 25-year-old was part of his first-team plans. "We need to look, like I said, at a lot of things in the club about wages, how many you can have in a position with the budget we have and to get the budget to get transfers. So, it was really clear towards him that the idea was to sell him."