Bigger blow than Raskin: Rangers to receive £12m bid for "outrageous" star
da betsson： Glasgow Rangers central midfielder Nicolas Raskin has attracted interest from other clubs in the summer transfer window, thanks to his performances at Ibrox over the last year or so.
da cassino： Premier League sides Wolves, Aston Villa, and Leeds United have all been linked with an interest in the Belgium international, who is said to be valued at £25m by the club.
Despite his undoubted quality, which is backed up by interest from Premier League clubs, Raskin as not helped Rangers to pick up any wins in the first three Scottish Premiership matches.
The midfield star has failed to score or create a ‘big chance’ in any of the three games, fortunately registering an assist when the ball deflected off his thigh and teed up Findlay Curtis to score from range.
Rangers have failed to score more than one goal in all of their league outings, so far, and that is why it would be an even bigger blow for them to lose a difference-maker in the final third, rather than Raskin, before the deadline closes.
European side plotting bid for Rangers star
Whilst noise over Raskin’s future has gone quiet, despite the report interest from down south earlier this summer, there is still plenty of chatter over what will happen to one of Russell Martin’s star forwards.
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According to the Daily Record, Lille are preparing to submit an offer to sign Glasgow Rangers centre-forward Hamza Igamane before the end of the window.
The report claims that the Ligue 1 side are set to propose an initial fee of £9m with add-ons that could take it up to £12m, as they look to test the Scottish giants’ resolve.
It adds that Lille have already had one bid turned down for Igamane and that they have now reopened talks to sign the forward, who Martin claimed said he was injured and unavailable to come on as a substitute against St Mirren.
The Daily Record reveals that Rangers want a fee close to £15m to allow the forward to leave, but Lille are not willing to go that high and will offer a £12m package in an attempt to get a deal done near the end of the window.
Why selling Igamane would be a big blow for Rangers
Losing Igamane this late in the window would be an even bigger blow than losing Raskin because he is the kind of player who can turn poor performances into positive results.
Raskin is not a natural game-changing attacker who is going to score and create goals out of nothing on a consistent basis, which is partly why he has been unable to turn the tide in the first three games.
That is not a criticism of the Belgian maestro, who is a joy to watch in midfield at times, but it just speaks to the kind of player Rangers need right now, and that player is Igamane.
Hamza Igamane’s 24/25 Premiership form
Match
Goal contributions
Score
Kilmarnock (H)
Goal
6-0 win
Ross County (A)
Goal
3-0 win
Motherwell (A)
2 goals
2-2 draw
Hibernian (A)
3 goals
3-3 draw
Dundee (A)
Assist
1-1 draw
St Johnstone (H)
Goal
3-1 win
Aberdeen (H)
Goal
3-0 win
Celtic (A)
Goal
3-2 win
Aberdeen (A)
Goal
2-2 draw
Aberdeen (H)
Goal
4-0 win
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Morocco international helped to turn losses into draws and draws into wins with his contributions in the final third last season in the Premiership.
Igamane, who analyst Ben Mattinson claimed tries “outrageous” efforts in games, showcased his game-changing quality when he scored the winner against Celtic at Parkhead back in March, in the clip below.
The 22-year-old attacker is the kind of player who can turn a game on its head by delivering a moment of magic, which is what Rangers have sorely lacked in the first three games of the league campaign.
This is why selling Igamane would be an even bigger blow than losing Raskin this summer, because he has more potential to be an influential player for the Light Blues in the Premiership.