Rangers target Nicolas Raskin is to leave Belgian giants Standard Liege amid an ugly dispute erupting at the club with manager Ronny Deila who the midfielder accused of trying to sell him to one of Belgium’s biggest three clubs.
The 21-year old, who’s been linked with a January Bosman to Rangers amid interest from other parties, was banished from training recently after his social media comments alleged that Deila and Liege were attempting to get rid of him for profit to one of Anderlecht, Brugges or Union Saint.
Deila hit back at him with this:
“If he accuses the club of a lack of respect, that’s his call. We wanted to build the team around him and I think the club did everything we could to keep him. He was given a significant financial incentive to stay, but in the end, it was not about money, he wanted to leave. Nicolas is a fantastic boy and a great player and it’s a shame what has happened, but he won’t be playing for us again.”
Only for Raskin to respond:
“It has been suggested it’s me who wants to end my time at Standard Liege. That is not correct. The club has decided to send me down to the B team, but my dispute with the current management goes beyond just my salary. I respect their decision, but I regret them trying to make it a pay issue. That’s not the case. And I showed again this summer that I don’t want to leave Standard, when they wanted to sell me to one of the three biggest clubs in Belgium.”
In short, someone is lying, and given Deila’s history in football at Celtic and of course over the Scott Allan affair, we’d be inclined to side with the player in all honesty.
Indeed, Raskin claims he wants to remain at Liege, but his club wanted instead to get the money for him and sell him – even Deila confirms the rejection from Raskin wasn’t about money.
What does all this mean for Rangers?
The Belgian will be leaving Liege as soon as the January window gives him the legal right to discuss an exit, and if Rangers want him, as long as the budget is there for Michael Beale, assuming he is absolutely 100% interested in Raskin, then the player could be his.
But there is competition for his signature, so Rangers won’t have it all their own way in vying for the deal.