Nicolas Raskin whisked through Edinburgh airport by Ibrox officials to complete late Rangers move
Nicolas Raskin has landed in Scotland ahead of his late transfer from Standard Liege to Rangers, according to the Daily Record.
Reports on Monday (30 January) suggested that an agreement had finally been reached with the Belgian side to sign the 21-year-old.
But Michael Beale had played his cards close to his chest when speaking to the press later in the day, only saying the Gers were “closer” but nothing was yet “guaranteed”.
However, the midfielder has now arrived at Edinburgh airport where according to the Record he was met by Ibrox officials and “whisked through departures” on his way to the training centre to get the deal completed ahead of the deadline.
A fee of £1.75million is thought to be agreed, with a 20% sell-on clause included in the deal for the man whose contract was expiring in the summer.
Tick tock
Not guaranteed yet maybe, but he wouldn’t be arriving for no reason so this one looks to be advancing successfully towards completion before the deadline.
It will be a big boost to the midfield which has looked ponderous at times, even as Beale’s arrival has sparked a much-improved run of results.
Raskin will join Todd Cantwell as January arrivals, and both ones who were due to be available for free in the summer, but the Light Blues haven’t taken the risk of losing out and have instead opted to bring the pair in now as they look to win both domestic cups.
Standard drove a hard bargain for a player who had already made clear he wasn’t going to sign a new deal and had subsequently been dropped by Ronny Deila.
All the same it is not a giant fee if he can make the difference to Beale’s set up, with the manager wanting to see his side dominate games more than they currently are.
There is still time for some deadline day surprises, but with the Gers boss suggesting that the Morgan Whittaker pursuit will be unsuccessful this month it seems like Raskin is soon to be secured.
In other Rangers news, one Bears star has taken to social media to mock criticism from a Sky Sports pundit.