Nico Raskin given Rangers transfer advice as former mentor tells club what Belgian needs from them

Daily Record

14 hours ago

Midfielder was left out by Russell Martin recently with boss reasoning he had his head turned by speculation and Thomas Buffel reckons another big season in light blue would benefit everyone.
Thomas Buffel has urged Nico Raskin to ignore the transfer noise and focus on another standout season for Rangers.
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Buffel coached Raskin in the Belgium U21 ranks and watched as he burst onto the full international stage earlier this year on the back of stand out performances in light blue.
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But new Gers boss Russell Martin left the midfielder out of the starting line up for the recent win over Viktoria Plzn and draw with Dundee, claiming the 24-year-old's head had been turned by transfer speculation.
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Rangers have received no official offers for Raskin who has three years left on his contract, but Martin admitted 'uncertainty' over his future, adding: 'Not from people ringing us, but I think from people ringing him, definitely.'
Wolves are understood to have been tracking his progress while city rivals Aston Villa and La Liga big guns Real Betis have also been linked.
And asked if another season at Ibrox would benefit Raskin, former Gers hero Buffel told Mail Sport: 'I think so yes. We will wait and see. Remember Rangers is also a good level.
"Sometimes timing in football or being lucky means there will be interest from big clubs.
'But first you need to be consistent and regular in your performance. Then for sure interest will come. But it will be up to him to prove that.
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'In every spot in the team you need good players. But definitely in midfield, these are key positions to hold the team together, to set up the attacks and block the counters. You need smart players there. It's the heart of the team.
'If they can hold onto Nico it will be a good thing for Rangers.
'He is a player every coach can use. He has good feet, but is also a player who likes to go in duels, who's not scared of duels. He's got a good work rate.
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'I think you have to be clear with him in which position he plays and what you expect of him.
'Because he has good feet, sometimes maybe as a number six he wants to do too much.
'So you need to find a balance there. He can also play more as an eight, box to box, he can come into the box and score goals. He did that for the U21s.
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'I remember he played also a game, playing a little bit wide and getting inside to penetrate into the box. But the number eight suits him.'
Belgium resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan next month and Buffel - capped 36 times by his country - expects Raskin and Celtic's Arne Engels to be fighting for a spot in Rudi Garcia's squad.
He said: 'There's a lot of competition in midfield, so we have to see how Nico's progress goes at Rangers and how he does on European nights.
'There's also Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, a lot of guys who can play that position.
'Yeah, I worked with Arne Engels with the U21s aswell. He's also a good player, has a good shot and good timing arriving into the box. A typical box to box number eight. He makes his runs and is a good passer of the ball.
'It's difficult for me to say who's ahead of who between Raskin and Engels as I've not seen enough of them in the last few months. But they are both talented players.'