Rangers midfield is going through something of a crisis just now, a problem that Philippe Clement needs to fix before it’s too late.
John Lunstram appears to be struggling for one reason or another and, with Mohamed Diomande out injured, the Gers boss has to find a partner who can put out fires and help build attacks.
It says it all that Kieran Dowell has been promoted to starting XI straight after returning from injury with the Rangers future of Nicolas Raskin looking bleaker by the weak and Andy Halliday telling Open Goal why he thinks he’s not been seen.
Rangers future looking bleak for Nicolas Raskin
On paper, the Belgium Under-21 international is capable of being a first pick either at number six or number eight.
Against St Mirren on the 8 of October, Raskin starting in midfield and was exceptional.
Arguably, it was as good a performance as he had put in since joining last January.
Not only did he display his normal high level of work rate, but he was a presence in the final third and involved with a lot of our attacking play, including an assist for Abdallah Sima.
Playing alongside Lundstram, they interchanged, taking it in turns to protect the back four rather than one of them doing it on their own and the other bombing on.
Raskin then started the first two league games for Rangers under Philippe Clement before injury saw his season slam to a halt.
An assured performance against Hibs was topped off with a long-range goal and it looked as though his season was off and running, the next game against Hearts was the last time he started a league game until the recent defeat to Motherwell when he was hooked at half-time.
Halliday, speaking on Open Goal can’t understand why he’s not been playing given the recent injuries:
“What’s happening with Raskin by the way?
“He’s got to be done you would imagine. He got left out of the squad for the Celtic game and he’s been an unused sub for the last few weeks.
“Let’s be honest, you know I’m a fan of Raskin, but he’s not done well this year. It’s at the point where you think Raskin is away in the summer. It’s got to that point where he’s not getting a sniff, you’d imagine they’re actively trying to sell him.”
Raskin has to start showing what he is capable of
Given his age and profile, Raskin is a saleable asset.
We also didn’t break the bank to get him seeing as he was in the last six months of his contract.
The problem is, he just hasn’t been able to get up to speed since returning from injury and looks a shadow of the player he is capable of being.
This time last year he dominated the midfield against Celtic and looked like the sort of midfielder that Rangers could build a team around.
Instead, he has spent more time in the stands than on the pitch and hasn’t made it off the bench when he has been in the squad.
Halliday could be right, however, if ever there was a time to rediscover what he is capable of, it is now.
