Nicolas Raskin scored his sixth goal of the Scottish Premiership season for Glasgow Rangers in their 3-2 defeat to Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.
The Belgian midfielder has now scored two goals and provided one assist in his last two appearances for the Gers, after grabbing a goal and an assist against Falkirk a fortnight ago.
Whilst the team let themselves down with the result, Raskin continues to shine in the middle of the park and show that he is up for the fight of trying to win a league title.
The former Standard Liege star has scored six goals, created 12 ‘big chances, registered seven assists, and won over 50% of his duels on the ground and in the air in the Premiership.
He has been a reliable presence off the ball, winning the majority of his physical battles, whilst also contributing to wins and draws with his efforts at the top end of the pitch.
Rangers backed to accept big offer for 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 that the Gers would allow the midfielder to leave if a significant offer comes in.
Brown said: “The transfer market is difficult to manage in Scotland, it’s hard to tempt top-quality players there and when they do, they attract a lot of interest. That’s happening now with Raskin, he’s got a lot of clubs across Europe looking at him.
|
25/26 Premiership |
Nicolas Raskin |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
32 |
|
Goals |
6 |
|
Big chances created |
12 |
|
Assists |
7 |
|
Tackles per game |
2.5 |
|
Duels won per game |
6.4 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
55% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
54% |
“Rangers will be very reluctant to let him go, but in their position, if somebody makes a huge offer for him, it’s going to be hard to turn down.”
It would be a big blow for Danny Rohl to lose the Belgium international because of how important he has been to the team offensively and defensively, which is why he will be hoping that no teams come in with big offers for his services.
Rangers could end up in the market to sign a replacement for Raskin this summer, and they could spend millions of pounds on a midfielder, despite once having a player in their academy who would have been a homegrown version of the Belgian star.
Rangers lost their homegrown version of Nicolas Raskin
An issue a lot of teams in Scotland have is that teams from down south in the Premier League can move to snap up their players before they can put pen to paper on professional contracts.
Back in the summer of 2017, Chelsea swooped to sign Billy Gilmour from the Gers academy and only had to pay an initial development fee of £500k for the 15-year-old midfielder.
Instead of staying with the Gers to eventually fight through to the first-team at Ibrox, the young Scottish star made the decision to go down south, and it is hard to blame him.
|
Billy Gilmour |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
At Chelsea |
|
First-team appearances |
22 |
|
Premier League games |
11 |
|
Champions League games |
2 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Trophies |
1 |
Gilmour ended up winning a Champions League trophy and made 22 first-team appearances for Chelsea before his move to Brighton in the summer of 2022.
After a return of five assists in 60 games for Brighton in all competitions, Napoli swooped in to sign him for a fee worth up to £16m in the summer of 2024, which is £15.5m more than the Gers got for him in 2017.
Gilmour has played 41 times in the Serie A, 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.
Like the Rangers star, the Scotland international is tough in the tackle and has won 63% of his ground duels in the Serie A this season, after winning 60% in the 2024/25 campaign.
Gilmour is a terrier in the middle of the park, with aggressive play off the ball to press the opposition and win his ground duels, but he is also reliable with the ball at his feet, completing 89% of his passes in his Serie A career.
Rangers will be gutted that they never got to see him in a first-team jersey during his time at Ibrox because he has gone on to shine in England and in Italy in major European leagues, contributing to a Serie A title last year.
He could have been their homegrown Raskin in midfield, with his aggression and technical quality, but they may have to splash the cash on a Raskin replacement this summer instead of already having one in the building.
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