Andy Walker insists Rangers must sell in-form midfielder Nicolas Raskin at the right time to ensure ‘maximum’ profit for him.
Raskin has turned out to be a fantastic £1.75m signing from Standard Liege, with ex-manager Michael Beale securing that transfer in January 2023.
The Belgian started his Ibrox career well but only featured 18 times in the Premiership across 2023/24, largely due to injury problems.
But the 24-year-old central midfielder has rediscovered his form in recent months, latterly under Philippe Clement before he was sacked, and now continuing that under Barry Ferguson.
Raskin was labelled ‘world class’ in the away Europa League win over Fenerbahce and provided a tremendous assist for Vaclav Cerny’s breakaway goal.
Raskin then ran the show at Celtic Park before the international break as his early headed goal set Rangers on their way to a famous victory.
The Belgian press fawned over Raskin’s Belgium debut against Ukraine, while Cyriel Dessers thinks there aren’t many other No.6s in Serie A better than his teammate.
Nicolas Raskin should be sold by Rangers for ‘really good profit’
Raskin’s price tag will continue to rise if he continues to perform in a Rangers jersey and Walker, speaking on The Go Radio Football Show, says the Light Blues need to sell him at the right time.
Rangers have been guilty of letting their star players such as Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos leave for absolutely nothing – the same can’t happen for Raskin.
Walker said: “When you think of that pass he (Raskin) made for Cerny late against Fenerbahce, that was the third goal which turned out to be a really vital one.
“And then of course his all-round play, not just his goal against Celtic, but his all-round play and his involvement in the second goal. I thought his performance was first-class.
“But Rangers have to accept that players like that who do develop, you know, sometimes you should just sell when you can get a maximum amount.
“I’m not sure how much he actually cost Rangers, but if you can sell him for a really good profit, that’s the road Rangers have to go down and just ensure that they get the next Nico Raskin in the door.”
Raskin on his Belgium debut vs Ukraine
It’s been a tremendous couple of weeks for Raskin. Having scored against Celtic for Rangers in the Old Firm derby, he went on to play for Belgium for the first couple of times.
Belgium lost the Nations League play-off first leg 3-1, but bounced back in the second leg to win 3-0 and thus avoid relegation to League B.
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia praised Raskin’s ‘recovery and technical accuracy’, with Raskin admitting he did not mind running the hard yards for the team’s more attacking players Kevin De Bruyne and Hans Vanaken.
He said: “I am happy, my family was there and everything went well. It is nothing but happiness.
”We had an attacking team because we had to score three goals, but I don’t mind working for these two great players so that they create chances and goals for us.
“It was good to show a strong reaction, we were able to show ourselves that we were a very good team when we all pulled in the same direction and went all out to achieve our goal.
“It’s on these foundations that we will have to build for the future.”
