(Back row from left to right) Jack Butland, Robin Propper, Leon Balogun, Hamza Igamane, Connor Barron, Nedim Bajrami, (front row from left to right…Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
Pundit says one Rangers player would start for Celtic – it’s not Hamza Igamane or Vaclav Cerny
While Rangers’ recruitment department has faced plenty of criticism over the years, Ibrox is still home to plenty of players who have come to represent outstanding value for money.
Legendary captain Barry Ferguson thinks Rangers would make a considerably profit on Hamza Igamane already, less than a season after the Moroccan sensation arrived for a fee just shy of the £2 million mark.
Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Clinton Nsiala all arrived at Rangers after their contracts expired elsewhere. That Chelsea are interested in rampaging left-back Jefte, meanwhile, is a testament as to how far the £400,000 bargain signing has come since a slow start to life in Scotland.
As for Nico Raskin, since returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the Belgian battleaxe has performed more like a £17 million midfielder than a £1.7 million midfielder.
With only one matchday remaining before the knockout stages begin, Raskin still tops the Europa League charts for tackles won per 90 minutes among every midfielder in the competition.
Raskin was ‘outstanding’ as Rangers thumped Celtic 3-0 on their first outing of 2025, meanwhile. Hoops hero Chris Sutton is not often the first to issue a glowing verdict of anyone in blue, but even he could not overlook what was a formidable all-action display from the man who’s endless energy levels and fierce battling qualities ended Clement’s long wait for a maiden Old Firm success.
READ MORE: Confirmed Rangers January 2025 Signings & Exit
Nicolas Raskin of Rangers FC applauds the fans after the William Hill Premiership match between Rangers FC and St. Johnstone FC at Ibrox Stadium on…
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Nico Raskin labelled the only Rangers player who would start for Celtic
Ian McCall, who spent two years in the heart of the Rangers engine room himself between 1987 to 1989, thinks there is probably only one member of Clement’s current roster who would stroll into the Celtic XI at this present moment.
It is not Jack Butland, Vaclav Cerny, Jefte or even Hamza Igamane – though you could certainly make an argument for the latter after Kyogo Furuhashi departed for Rennes – but the man who led by example in place of injured captain James Tavernier in Rangers’ first league win over their bitter rivals since May 2023.
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“I think Raskin is a right good player. A real good player,” says McCall, most recently seen in the dugout of League Two outfit Clyde.
“He is the one player, I think, who could go in the Celtic team.”
A £1.7 million signing from Belgian outfit Standard Liege, to say Raskin has put those niggling injury issues behind him would be an understatement.
The 23-year-old has now played the full 90 minutes in 13 of the club’s last 16 Premiership matches, as well as each of the last five in the Europa League.
Clement credits the pretty remarkable turnaround in Raskin’s Rangers career to his growing understanding regarding the importance of nutrition as well as the sort of experience he could not call upon as a younger man.
Philippe Clement explains Raskin revival at Rangers
“The biggest difference with Nico is that, physically, he’s taking really good steps,” Clement said after December’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Tottenham Hotspur. “He spoke himself about the diet. That’s also a thing the club is helping with. So the chef in the club helps Nico with his food.
“Nico, tactically, is taking really big steps about what to do in which moment, and he’s still a young player. Football is a game with a lot of details that you need to take control of, and Nico is learning really fast. Same as with Dio, same as with Conor Barron. All young midfielders, all exciting talents.
“The midfield, it’s the engine of the team. It’s important to do the right things, at the right moments, and controlling the games really well. To take out transitions, to have good positioning, but also to be available and knowing where to play, where to play the balls.
“So, yeah, I’m really happy with the evolution of Nico, but not only him.”
Related Topics
Hamza Igamane
Nicolas Raskin
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