Get it done’ – Rangers fans want Nicolas Raskin and teammate sold to pave way for star who wants Ibrox move
Rangers supporters appear increasingly willing to sacrifice one of the club’s best performers this summer if it means finally landing the midfielder many believe would perfectly suit Derek McInnes’ rebuild. Sentiment across fan forums and pundit circles has shifted markedly in recent days: rather than fighting to keep hold of Nicolas Raskin, a growing chorus of Ibrox supporters now wants him — and potentially a teammate alongside him — sold this summer to help fund a move for former Aberdeen captain Lewis Ferguson.
It’s a genuinely striking turnaround. Raskin has spent the past two and a half seasons establishing himself as arguably the standout performer in a Rangers shirt, and he’s currently representing Belgium at a World Cup where his country has reached the quarter-finals. Ordinarily, that combination — a homegrown fan favourite performing well on the biggest stage in world football — would see supporters desperate to keep him at all costs.
Instead, according to Daily Record journalist Scott McDermott, the opposite appears true. Writing in the paper’s print edition, McDermott acknowledged it might sound almost absurd for a club to be actively trying to offload two players while they’re still competing in the latter stages of a World Cup, but argued that for Rangers and McInnes to properly rebuild and get the club challenging for titles again domestically, the idea isn’t nearly as far-fetched as it first sounds. He went further, suggesting it probably tells you everything you need to know that despite both players still being involved at the business end of the tournament, most Rangers supporters would happily see the club cash in on the pair this summer.
That sentiment is echoed directly in fan discussion threads. Posts on the Rangers Rumours forum this week have shown supporters actively debating not whether Raskin should be sold, but how the proceeds should be reinvested — with Lewis Ferguson’s name coming up repeatedly as the player fans want prioritised. One recurring theme in the discussion is a belief that Raskin’s kit peg being moved in the Ibrox dressing room to occupy the space vacated by departing captain James Tavernier might be a symbolic hint of succession — though even posters raising that theory largely conceded they expect Raskin to leave rather than stay and inherit the armband.
On the surface, moving on your most productive midfielder while he’s shining at a World Cup seems a strange strategy. But the underlying logic being floated by both journalists and supporters comes down to a mix of financial opportunity and tactical fit.
Financially, the numbers are hard to ignore. Raskin is understood to be attracting serious interest from clubs across multiple leagues, with a fee in the region of £20 million being mentioned in connection with his services — a figure that would represent a significant, potentially club-record sale for Rangers. Reports have also linked Real Betis, who qualified for the Champions League via a fifth-placed La Liga finish, with formally opening talks over a deal, while Italian sides — including reported interest from Bologna and earlier links to Atalanta — have also been credited with scouting him. English interest hasn’t been absent either, with Hull City strongly linked and a host of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Brighton, all reported to have run the rule over him at various points over the past 18 months.
On the tactical side, there’s a more nuanced argument being made. While few dispute Raskin’s talent — Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has praised his prominence and work rate as a driving force for the national side — some observers have pointed to a consistency issue at club level. The suggestion is that Rangers haven’t consistently seen the same standard of performance domestically that Raskin has shown on the international stage, appearing only in patches across a full club season rather than sustaining it match after match.
Raskin isn’t the only player being discussed as a potential departure to help fund incoming business. Norway international Thelo Aasgaard, who has also been in impressive form at the World Cup as his country reached the last eight to face England, has similarly been floated as a sale candidate.
The case for moving Aasgaard on is framed in similar terms to Raskin’s — his club form doesn’t fully match his current international standing. Aasgaard finished last season with eight goals for Rangers, a reasonable return on paper, but a significant portion of that tally came after the Premiership title race had already slipped out of Rangers’ hands, raising questions about the weight and timing of his contributions during the moments that mattered most domestically.
Selling both players simultaneously would represent a notable overhaul of Rangers’ attacking midfield options in a single window. But the argument being made by some fans and pundits is that with their value inflated by strong World Cup showings, this summer may represent close to peak resale value for both — and that letting them go now, while the price is high, could ultimately serve the rebuild better than keeping faith with players whose long-term futures at the club already look uncertain.
None of this discussion happens in isolation from Rangers’ pursuit of Lewis Ferguson. The Bologna midfielder and former Aberdeen captain has become something of a symbolic target for supporters — a marquee, Scotland international signing that would signal real intent from the new regime under McInnes.
The problem, as has been extensively reported, is cost. Bologna have set a valuation in the region of £17 million for the 26-year-old, with some reports suggesting Rangers may actually need closer to £25 million to see off interest from an unnamed Italian club also chasing his signature. Even the lower-end estimate would require Rangers to more than double the £8 million (potentially rising to £10 million) they paid for Youssef Chermiti last summer — already the club’s biggest outlay in 25 years.
That’s precisely where the Raskin sale becomes central to the equation. Rangers Review’s Chris Jack has reported that the club have already made informal contact with Bologna to explore the framework of a deal, and are fully aware of both the transfer fee required and the wage demands that would follow. But as Jack himself has cautioned, the only realistic route to completing a deal is if Ferguson personally decides he wants to return to Scottish football over what would likely be more lucrative offers elsewhere — something that remains far from guaranteed given the level of interest already circling him following his own strong World Cup form.
Adding Aasgaard’s sale into the mix, alongside Raskin’s, would meaningfully strengthen Rangers’ hand. Between the two, fans on forums have floated a combined valuation in excess of £25 million, which — even accounting for reinvestment elsewhere in the squad — would go a long way toward bridging the gap between Rangers’ financial reality and Bologna’s asking price.
What’s emerging is a picture of a fanbase that has, at least for now, largely accepted the idea that rebuilding under McInnes may require short-term sacrifice of even well-liked, high-performing players. It’s a notably pragmatic stance for supporters to take collectively, particularly given how instrumental both Raskin and Aasgaard have been in recent Rangers sides, and how visible their talents currently are on the World Cup stage.
Whether that fan sentiment translates into actual boardroom action remains to be seen. Raskin himself has previously said he’s leaving his future in the hands of his representatives while he focuses on Belgium’s World Cup campaign, and no formal bids had been confirmed as of the most recent reporting. But with McInnes reportedly determined to reshape his midfield around leadership and physicality — qualities frequently cited in connection with both Ferguson and alternative target Vanja Dragojevic — the pieces increasingly look to be moving toward a summer defined by significant outgoing business funding an ambitious incoming statement signing, whether that turns out to be Ferguson or another name entirely.
