Nicolas Raskin rejected lucrative new deal at Standard Liege before Rangers transfer
Nicolas Raskin rejected a “lucrative” new contract offer by Standard Liege’s US-based private investment firm owners before moving to Rangers, according to The Athletic.
The Liege midfielder was confirmed as Michael Beale’s second signing of the January transfer window on deadline day after the Gers snapped up Norwich City playmaker Todd Cantwell earlier in the month.
Raskin had fallen out of favour at the Belgian club this season, and The Athletic (Wednesday 1 February) believes this was because he refused to sign a hefty new contract to extend his stay beyond the end of the season.
They wrote: “He [Raskin] could sign a pre-contract deal with anyone since he only had six months remaining on his deal.
“A new contract at Liege was turned down, however, and that refusal to commit saw him frozen out of Ronny Deila’s team since mid-November.
“Liege are backed by US-based private investment firm 777 Partners, which bought the club in March last year, and it is understood Raskin was made a lucrative offer to re-sign at Liege.”
Promising signs
The signing of Raskin is yet another sign that Rangers are moving in a completely different direction under Beale than under Giovanni van Bronkhorst.
The squad that the Englishman inherited at Ibrox was by no means poor but did have its clear weaknesses. A lack of fresh legs in midfield was one of these, and Raskin and Cantwell both look to be an antidote to this problem.
Raskin looks to be ready-made for Scottish football and can play in a variety of positions across the midfield. Beale is unlikely to throw him straight into the firing line, but it will be interesting to see who will make up his midfield starting XI now he has bolstered his ranks.
The 21-year-old could well prove himself to be the all-action midfielder that the Gers have lacked in recent years, and he looks to still have plenty of room for improvement in the coming years.
After a solid month of recruitment, Rangers will now look to claim some silverware in the second half of the season and set themselves up for a title bid next season.
In other Rangers news, this is our predicted XI to start for Michael Beale against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.