As Rangers prepare to head to Manchester United in the Europa League, you won’t have to remind Philippe Clement of the size of the challenge.
The Gers might regularly punch above their weight at Europa League level but the financial disparity between the Premier League and Scottish Premiership is stark.
How the Rangers manager would love to be able to spend £50.5m on the likes of PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte, the Uruguayan moving to Old Trafford in the summer.
But whilst Manchester United flash the cash, Rangers have their own version of Manuel Ugarte and the Europa League stats suggest he might even be better.
Nicolas Raskin thriving at Rangers
Two years on from Nicolas Raskin first moving to Rangers, it’s only now that the Ibrox support are beginning to see the true potential in the Belgian midfielder.
A combination of injuries and constant upheaval at Ibrox has seen the former Standard Liege midfielder struggle to hold down a regular starting berth at Rangers.
Now it’s hard to imagine a Rangers line-up, at least in a big game, without Nicolas Raskin in it.
The 23-year-old has been a revelation under Philippe Clement this season with his aggressive midfield play, expert reading of the game and driving spirt at the fulcrum of the Rangers midfield turning heads.
Captaining Rangers to that 3-0 thrashing of Celtic at Ibrox too, there’s been an improvement in every aspect of the midfielder’s game this season.
Now we’re beginning to see why Nicolas Raskin was being watched by Barcelona before Rangers pounced.
Rangers midfielder a top Europa League performer
It’s in the Europa League where the £800k midfielder has shone brightest at times this season, Raskin purring his way through the Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur in December.
But don’t just take our word for it; the Europa League stats back our argument up.
Nicolas Raskin has won back possession more than any other player in the Europa League this season, doing so a remarkable 48 times across the competition.
As explained by BBC Sport, Raskin is also the only player to have won the ball back over 12 times in three individual Europa League games this season.
To put that into context, no other player in the entire competition has done so in more than one game this campaign.
So whilst Manchester United broke the bank to bring in Manuel Ugarte this summer, Rangers have their own version of the Uruguayan in the shape of Nicolas Raskin.
And it appears in the Europa League at least, the technical Belgian is even more effective.
