Ibrox Sources: Nicolas Raskin’s chances of agreeing JanRangers transfer revealed

Of all the ways Rangers’ hectic summer transfer window could have concluded, Nicolas Raskin simply staying put may have been the outcome fewest people predicted. The Belgian midfielder had spent the closing days of the window as one of the most heavily linked departures at Ibrox, with Besiktas emerging as clear front-runners to sign him before the Scottish and Turkish transfer windows both closed within days of each other. Instead, Raskin remained at Rangers — and according to sources speaking to Football Insider, his long-term future at the club is still very much an open question that could resolve itself very differently when the January window arrives.

The Besiktas interest was substantial rather than speculative. Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider as early as August 27th that Rangers were bracing themselves for offers on Raskin in the closing days of the window, and that’s exactly what materialised — the Turkish side moved from an initial loan enquiry to a firm £10.3million bid before the deadline. Rangers rejected it. The offer, by all accounts, simply didn’t meet Rangers’ own valuation of a player they regard as central to Derek McInnes’s plans, and with no improved bid forthcoming before the Turkish market shut, Raskin’s move collapsed and he stayed in Glasgow.

Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, discussing the situation on the outlet’s Transfer Insider podcast, framed Rangers holding onto Raskin as a significant boost for McInnes given how central the Belgian is to the side. “It’ll be a huge boost for Derek McInnes and everyone connected with Rangers to keep hold of Raskin,” O’Rourke said. “He’s such a key player for them and will play a big part in any success they have this season, and he is still a big part of their plans.

What makes Raskin’s situation unusual is that staying beyond the summer deadline doesn’t appear to have settled the matter in Rangers’ favour long-term — if anything, it’s simply pushed the same question back four months. O’Rourke was direct about the uncertainty that remains: “We’ll have to wait and see what happens come January, it all depends if there’s still those interested suitors for Raskin. You know how things go in the January window, clubs maybe realise they need a player in a certain position and then they could make a move even if they didn’t in the summer. There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge and plenty of things can change by then, but for now it’s just a case of waiting and seeing.”

Besiktas themselves are considered likely to return with an improved offer given how far their interest progressed over the summer, and there’s little reason for a resurfaced approach in January to catch Rangers off guard given how public the Turkish side’s pursuit already was.

Besiktas aren’t the only suitors in the picture, either. Raskin enjoyed a strong World Cup campaign with Belgium over the summer, and that form has reportedly attracted fresh interest from a clutch of Premier League clubs, several of whom have been credited with long-term admiration for the midfielder over the past twelve months. Tottenham, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have all previously been linked with Raskin, and Football Insider’s reporting suggests that interest hasn’t gone away simply because a summer move failed to materialise. Should any of those clubs identify a genuine mid-season need for a midfielder of Raskin’s profile, there’s a real chance one of them could move to test Rangers’ resolve in January in a way Besiktas alone couldn’t quite manage over the summer

For now, the working assumption on both sides appears to be business as usual. O’Rourke’s own assessment was unambiguous on that point: “Between now and January, I think Rangers will be more than happy to have Raskin still around and playing a key role in Derek McInnes’ side.” That’s borne out by results, too — Raskin played the full 90 minutes in Rangers’ midweek win over Falkirk immediately prior to the deadline, and has remained a fixture in McInnes’s midfield through the club’s recent run of three straight wins across all competitions.

There’s also a wider transfer subplot tied up in Raskin’s situation. Rangers’ reported reluctance to sanction the £17m required to sign Lewis Ferguson from Bologna over the summer — a deal the Bologna captain’s father has since described as one his son was fully “prepared” to complete — has been attributed at least in part to funds potentially being held back pending clarity over Raskin’s own exit. With Raskin now still at Ibrox and his future no clearer than it was before the deadline, that same tension over available transfer funds could easily resurface in January, shaping not just Raskin’s next move but Rangers’ ability to finally get a deal for Ferguson, or any other midfield target, over the line

Nothing about Raskin’s situation looks close to resolved. Rangers get to keep one of their most important midfielders for at least the first half of the season, which by any measure is a positive outcome given how close his exit came to actually happening. But with Besiktas expected to return, Premier League interest simmering in the background, and Raskin’s own long-term intentions still unclear beyond a stated focus on helping Rangers build on their current form, McInnes and the Ibrox hierarchy will know that keeping hold of him past January is far from guaranteed. For now, as O’Rourke put it, it’s simply a case of waiting to see how much changes between now and the turn of the year.