Foreign media react to 'predator' Rangers ace as classy international display leaves crowd doing a Ric Flair
The Govan fan favourite addressed his ‘complicated’ Ibrox situation after the match
A Rangers midfielder has excelled on International duty, despite uncertainty surrounding his Ibrox future.
Nico Raskin started for Belgium alongside the likes of Napoli superstar, Kevin de Bruyne and Real Madrid shot-stopper, Thibault Courtois in their 6-0 hammering of Kazakhstan. The Rangers man even managed to bag himself his first International goal, as he tapped in from a Jeremy Doku cross.
Raskin was eventually taken off in the 70th minute, where he received a standing ovation from The Red Devils fans. The midfielder will now head back to Glasgow for club duty, however following his omission from Russell Martin’s squad to face Celtic before the International break, his situation at Ibrox is still ‘complicated’.
Belgian media hail Raskin ‘a predator in the box’
Despite mainly being known as a midfield workhorse, perhaps something which is underrated about Raskin is his ability to score goals. The 24-year old has a decent goalscoring record for Rangers of late and has now taken that form to the international stage. Media outlet in Belgium, DH Sports, gave Raskin a 7.5/10 rating. It appeared as if the Rangers man had the home crowd doing their best impression of WWE legend Ric Flair’s famous one-liner, as the battler produced “woos” from the crowd with some of his skills.
Belgian media giants RTBF Actus rated Raskin’s performance as 7/10 against Kazakhstan and claim he can act as a real catalyst in the team. They said: “a first international goal, a predator in the box, to reward another accomplished performance for the national team. Nicolas Raskin can smile after a match in which he always made the right decisions and won most of his duels. Very available on the Belgian right front, he often reoriented the Devils' play to breathe new life into the Belgian attacks.”
Raskin now has six caps for his country as he begins to get more regular game-time in a Belgian jersey, however whether he remains as part of Russell Martin’s plans remains to be seen. Following his Old Firm omission, Raskin looked to be out of favour with the Rangers boss and headed for the Ibrox exit door, however as the summer window came to a close, he eventually stayed in Govan.
Raskin addresses ‘complicated’ situation at Gers
Following the match, Raskin spoke about the Rangers saga for the first time. He told Belgian media: “My situation at the club is a bit complicated. I'm going to go back, do the best I can to sort it out, get some playing time. But it doesn't just depend on me, it depends on the coach, the club.
"That's football, there are ups and downs. The truth is, I love this club so much, I've had some wonderful times here, and I have a great relationship with the fans. I try to give back to them as much as I can. I still hope we can find a solution. A transfer? No, that's out of the question. I want to continue to resolve this at the club."
After four draws in four games it has been an underwhelming start to the Russell Martin era at Ibrox. Rangers fans will be hoping the manager and player can resolve their issues sooner rather than later.