As Ibrox Noise exclusively told you earlier, Nicolas Raskin has NOT yet signed a pre-contract, but it didn’t really require Michael Beale to reveal that, albeit the manager has now confirmed it.
Indeed, we confirmed he’s passed his medical and agreed terms, but if he had signed a deal you can guarantee the club would have announced that like they did last January with John Souttar, and the previous January with both Jack Simpson and Scott Wright.
No announcement this time confirms Raskin is still very much a Standard Liege player, and currently sits at Bosman free agent status this summer.
It still boils down to Rangers trying to secure him now, and the possibility Raskin wants a move away from Liege immediately, and if Rangers can’t bid enough to persuade Liege to free him immediately, he will likely find someone who will.
He has agreed terms, he is happy with the contract, and he’s passed the medical, but he isn’t happy to remain in Belgium till the summer, because his manager Ronny Deila has made it clear Raskin is finished under him.
Raskin would either go out on loan for 6 months or sit in Liege’s reserves – he is hoping Rangers fund the signing now, because he really doesn’t want to stay where he is.
Now, bear in mind from January 1st he was free to speak to other clubs – that remains the case until his contract expires, so it’s not a race against time to secure the precontract, but Rangers DO have until February 1st to pay Liege an agreed fee otherwise the window is closed and he will be locked into his current club till the summer.
Unless, that is, another suitor nips in and pays Liege what they want.
It is a little messy, and it’s all in place if Rangers can just agree a fee with the Belgians – the haggling isn’t a great look at the prices we’re talking about, and as we say, fans saying ‘just get him in the summer’ – well, it’s not that simple, is it? ANYONE can still offer him a precontract – it needs a signature to bind him to one club.
If we don’t sign him now, we may well lose him to another side who can offer more before February.
It’s really on Rangers to make a bid Liege will accept otherwise the player is going to slip through our fingers.