Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin hasn’t had it easy over his nearly two years at Ibrox.
The Belgian U21 international, who is now 23, joined Rangers against the backdrop of substantial hype following his breakthrough with Standard Liege.
Whilst initial performances were promising, Raskin eventually fell away under Michael Beale with a string of injury problems disrupting his first 24 months at Ibrox.
Now back fully fit and making an impact on the first-team, the young Belgian is showing the same potential that him dreaming about a move to the Premier League.
Rangers midfielder has ‘levels’ to go up
In recent week, Nicolas Raskin has been on of the biggest positives for Philippe Clement as pressure begins to mount on the Rangers manager.
The Belgian midfielder has slowly been working his way back to full fitness and has begun to impress alongside Connor Barron in the middle of the pitch.
A battling midfielder who always looks to play a forward pass, there are shoots of progress in Raskin’s game and the Belgian international has been a welcome addition to the Rangers fold.
Ibrox manager Philippe Clement insists that the midfielder still has ‘levels’ to go up at Rangers and that big things are expected of the midfielder.
“I know Nico already a long, long time, when he was a young boy coming to the youth ranks of Standard,” said Clement.
“I know him from before, when he was playing in the youth of Sandara. So it’s not a surprise for me, it’s about getting him to this level and to raise the level still. He’s been really unlucky in that way.
“When I came in, in the beginning, he played, I don’t know, one, two games, three games, and then he got a really, really bad injury and it was a long time out.
“He got an injury this season also that was a while out, and then you need some time to get back in rhythm and to grow to your best level.
“But I know he’s a fighter with good feet and with the right mentality that suits this club.
“So, yeah, I’m happy to see now the Nico that I expected already nine months ago. But, yeah, that’s part of football with injuries, that you lose some time.”
Nicolas Raskin wants move to Chelsea
The return to form for Nicolas Raskin comes after former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez compared the Rangers star to Gennaro Gattuso.
The ex-AC Milan and Italy legend is one of the most combative footballers of his era and if Rangers get a fraction of that from Raskin they’ll be doing alright.
Nicolas Raskin also has his sights set on a bigger level than Rangers and has previously spoken openly about his dream of moving to the Premier League.
With Chelsea in the kid’s sights, if Rangers can harness Nico’s potential then it’s a win-win situation for everyone as Raskin finally looks to fulfil his destiny at Ibrox.
“My ultimate dream is to play in the Premier League with Chelsea,” said Raskin not long after joining Rangers.
“Playing in Scotland struck me as a good intermediate step.
“But Rangers are still a big name in British football. Before they came in for me, I had approaches from Club Brugge and Genk.
“But I think it would be a mistake for me to play for another club in Belgium, as Standard will always be the club I love most.
“Other clubs were interested in me as well, but Rangers’ interest was the strongest.”
