Nicolas Raskin scored his sixth goal of the Scottish Premiership season as Glasgow Rangers lost 3-2 to Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.
The Belgian midfielder has now scored twice and provided one assist in his last two games for the Gers, after grabbing a goal and an assist against Falkirk two weeks ago.
While the team let themselves down with the result, Raskin continues to shine in the middle of the park and shows that he is determined to fight for the league title.
The former Standard Liege player has scored six goals, created 12 chances, registered seven assists, and won more than 50% of his matches on the ground and in the air in the Premiership.
He was reliable off the ball, winning many of his physical battles, while also contributing to wins and draws with his efforts at the other end of the pitch.
The Guardians have supported accepting a large donation from Nicolas Raskin
As ever when a player is in form and performing well, there will be a summer of speculation over Raskin’s future at Ibrox beyond the upcoming transfer window.
Speaking to Football Insider last week, former Manchester United scout Mick Brown suggested the Gers could let the midfielder leave if a significant offer came in.
Brown said: “It’s difficult to manage the transfer market in Scotland, it’s difficult to tempt top players there and when they do that they attract a lot of people. That’s happening now with Raskin, he has a lot of European clubs looking at him.
|
25/26 Premiership |
Nicholas Raskin |
|---|---|
|
Appearance |
32 |
|
Goals |
6 |
|
Great opportunities have been created |
12 |
|
It helps |
7 |
|
Fighting for each game |
2.5 |
|
Duels won per match |
6.4 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
55% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
54% |
“The guards will be reluctant to let him go, but in their place, if someone offers him something big, it will be difficult to refuse.”
It would be a big risk for Danny Rohl to lose the Belgian player because of how important he was to the team offensively and defensively, which is why he will be hoping that no teams will come with big offers for his work.
Rangers could end up in the market to sign Raskin’s replacement this summer, and could spend millions of pounds on the midfielder, although there was once a player at their school who would be the Belgian star’s home form.
The Guardians have lost the home version of Nicolas Raskin
The problem many Scottish clubs have is that teams from the south of the Premier League can move and take their players before they have written down professional contracts.
Back in the summer of 2017, Chelsea rushed to sign Billy Gilmour from the Gers academy and had to pay an initial £500k development fee for the 15-year-old midfielder.
Instead of staying with the Gers to finally fight for the first team at Ibrox, the young Scottish star made the decision to move down south, and it’s hard to blame him.
|
Billy Gilmour |
|
|---|---|
|
Mathematics |
In Chelsea |
|
The emergence of the first group |
22 |
|
Premiership games |
11 |
|
Champions League games |
2 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
It helps |
0 |
|
Medals |
1 |
Gilmour went on to win the Champions League trophy and made 22 first-team appearances for Chelsea before moving to Brighton in the summer of 2022.
After returning five assists in 60 games for Brighton in all competitions, Napoli stepped in and signed him for a fee of up to £16m in the summer of 2024, which is £15.5m more than the Gers got him in 2017.
Gilmour has made 41 Serie A appearances, winning the title in his first season, since joining the Italian giants and looks like a Raskin-esque player in the middle of the park for Antonio Conte.
As a Rangers star, the Scot is difficult to manage and has won 63% of his Serie A fixtures this season, after winning 60% in the 2024/25 campaign.
Gilmour is a playmaker in the center of the park, who plays hard football to press opponents and win his matches, but he is also reliable with the ball at his feet, completing 89% of his passes in his Serie A career.
Rangers will feel they have never seen him pull on a first-team jersey during his time at Ibrox as he has starred in England and Italy in Europe’s top leagues, playing a part in last year’s Serie A title win.
He could have been a home-grown Raskin in midfield, with aggressiveness and technical quality, but they may need to spend money on a Raskin replacement this summer instead of what they already have in the build-up.
Worse than Meghoma: Rohl must bring down the Rangers star who is becoming Souttar 2.0
Danny Rohl must stop this flop for Rangers who was worse than Jayden Meghoma against Motherwell.
