New Rangers signing Nicolas Raskin claims Michael Beale was central to him choosing Ibrox over several other offers as he gives an interview following the January switch from Standard Liege.
The 21-year-old Belgian youth international midfielder is highly-rated in his homeland and around the continent, with several big names including Barcelona and Napoli linked to the player last month.
This follows on from comments made by Todd Cantwell, who like Raskin also claimed that Michael Beale was central to his Ibrox transfer as he looked to leave Norwich City.
After drawn-out reports dragging back to the summer, Rangers announced a deal for the midfielder on Deadline Day and Nicolas Raskin joins Cantwell in signing for the club this January.
In an interview with RangersTV, Nicolas Raskin talked up the role Michael Beale played in his signing in comments which show how much sway the new Ibrox manager holds.
“I spoke to the manager about my position in the squad,” said Nicolas Raskin in his first interview following the move.
“He talked to me about how he saw me play. The manager convinced me to come because I had a few other interested clubs.
“But no other manager talked to me like him and convinced me. I really liked how he talked to me.
“I want to come directly after we spoke.”
Nicolas Raskin praises Michael Beale in interview
In his first season as a first-team manager – and only in his second manager’s job following the switch from QPR – you’d have been forgiven for thinking Michael Beale might not have the pull of other options.
But the Rangers manager’s elite knowledge of the game and ability to communicate his ideas on the roles players will have in his team is clearly a major pull for Ibrox targets.
As the Belgian reveals in his RangersTV interview, Michael Beale has been able to sell Rangers to Nicolas Raskin for a number of reasons and deserves kudos for managing to do the same with Todd Cantwell earlier in the window.
With Giovanni van Bronckhorst in charge perhaps they might not have been able to swing the deal with Michael Beale seemingly one of the UK’s most popular coaches amongst young players in particular.
Beale’s ability to help strike transfers is perhaps understated and Rangers fans will be hoping these are two of several high-profile coups the club pulls off under the manager.
Meanwhile, here’s what happened with the interest in Morgan Whittaker.