The best signing that Nils Koppen didn’t make for Rangers in the summer was one that could have cost them their best player.
A bold statement? Absolutely. But after another all-action display from Nicolas Raskin in the Old Firm derby win, his place as the first name on the team sheet can’t really be questioned.
It wasn’t that long ago that the diminutive midfielder was being tipped to leave Ibrox but a call up to the Belgian national squad highlights just how impressive he has been.
Not only did Raskin put his £11m compatriot Arnie Engels in the shade, he led the charge for Rangers in a display that ticked every box statistically.
In the guise of interim Rangers manager Barry Ferguson, it was as complete a midfield performance as has been seen for some time in a Light Blue shirt.
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Nicolas Raskin dominates for Rangers against Celtic
Starting with the raw numbers, Raskin, signed for £1.75m, finished with one goal and one assist to his name both, despite being one of the smallest players on the park, headers.
In terms of attacking numbers, the 24-year old created one big chance, had one key pass, two shots at goal and completed all of his dribbles.
All impressive stuff.
However….
It is off the ball and on the dirty side of the game where Raskin shone.
After a grueling 120 minutes against Fenerbahce, he could be excused for being heavy legged or lacking a bit of energy, if anything, he worked even harder.
He won seven out of 12 ground duels, three out of four headers, made three clearances, one interception and four tackles.
A Barry Ferguson-esque performance.
What has Barry Ferguson said about Raskin’s potential?
The scary thing is, if Ferguson is a man of his word, there could be more to come from Raskin:
“Yeah, I’ve seen Nico today and I told him that’s the difference that I’ve made to him in two and a half weeks,” Ferguson said of Raskin’s Belgium call-up.
“Nico, since I’ve come in, I’ve thought that he has so many good attributes, but also he has a few things he has to work on and he’s open to that. I like that quality, it’s the same with a number of my players.
“I’ll spend time with him individually but because of the amount of football he’s played I’ve not been able to get many [sessions in with him on the training pitch]. He’s probably happy with that, that I can’t get him one-to-on!”
Rangers captain in waiting? On this form and under the guidance of Ferguson, it’s hard to argue against him succeeding James Tavernier.
