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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Christopher Jack

Rangers agree Nicolas Raskin deal as Michael Beale lands Belgian international

RANGERS have agreed a deal to sign Standard Liege midfielder Nicolas Raskin as Michael Beale continues his Ibrox rebuild this month.

Beale secured his first signing of the January transfer window last Monday as Todd Cantwell completed a switch from Norwich City on a long-term deal.

And Raskin is now poised to follow the 24-year-old to Glasgow and finalise his move before the close of business on Tuesday night.

Rangers saw two bids for Raskin rejected by Standard in recent days but negotiations have now come to a conclusion as Beale gets set to land a key midfield target. 

The Belgian youth internationalist has been heading for the exit door in Liege for some time after falling out of favour with former Celtic boss Ronny Deila.

Rangers have been long time admirers of Raskin and, earlier in the window, Beale said: "A player I remember a lot from the time we played Standard Liege [in October 2020 in the Europa League]. He missed the first game against Rangers that night when Kemar Roofe scored that amazing goal but he played in the second leg.

"He is a player I am aware of, a very good player who is obviously out of contract in the summer and is attracting a lot of attention. There is an interest from us but I am sure there is from a number of clubs."

That interest was stepped up in the days that followed but it has taken further rounds of talks over the weekend for all parties to come to an agreement. 

The captures of Cantwell and Raskin are significant coups for Beale following an impressive start to life at Ibrox that has seen him go unbeaten in his first ten games as boss.

“I am extremely happy to welcome Todd to Rangers," Beale said of the former Canaries playmaker. "He is a player that is fully aligned to our playing style and we believe he will be a key player for the club in the coming seasons.

“I am looking forward to working with him on the pitch this week and integrating him into our fantastic football club.”

Rangers remain interested in a move for Swansea City forward Morgan Whittaker and could return to the table once again after seeing their initial advances rebuffed by the Championship side.

Midfielder Charlie McCann is the only first team departure so far this month after he clinched a move to Forest Green Rovers.

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