'A serious asset': Rangers star labelled 'remarkable' as his progress at Ibrox leaves local media stunned

03/15/2025 02:30 PM

Theirry Raskin, the father of Rangers midfielder Nico, said a few weeks back that his son was deserving of a chance in the Belgium national team.

It seems that Rudi Garcia agrees.

The former Lyon, Lille, Marseille and Roma coach is preparing for March’s UEFA Nations League double header against Ukraine. Garcia, who replaced Domenico Tedesco in the Rote Duivels hotseat, is not the only one who will represent Belgium for the first time next Thursday.

Alongside Genk captain David Heynen and Ajax starlet Jorthy Mokio, Nico Raskin is part of the Belgium roster for the very first time, the Rangers midfielder called up partly due to the recent injury issues of Aston Villa’s £50 million man Amadou Onana.

Belgian media delighted as Rangers’ Nico Raskin gets first ever call up

Raskin ‘deserves a chance’ to prove he can make the step up from Under-23 football to the senior roster, his father said on the back of a typically feisty display during January’s Europa League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Raskin had more than held his own against the likes of Man United and Tottenham, while delivering one of the finest individual performances of the entire season in the 3-0 Old Firm trouncing of Celtic.

Even Chris Sutton could not help but praise the ‘outstanding’ Rangers midfielder that day.

Produce a repeat performance against Ukraine, meanwhile, and Raskin could cement his place in a transitional Belgium squad shifting away from that so-called ‘Golden Generation’.

“You could say that it is also a diplomatic selection. There are a lot of people who are satisfied now, right?,” Belgian reporter Peter Vandenbempt says, via Voetbal Nieuws.

“I also find the presence of Nicolas Raskin remarkable. He is having a very strong season at Rangers and was even captain for a while under Philippe Clement.

“I think he certainly has his place in the extended selection of the national team. It will be interesting to see how much progress Raskin has made since leaving Belgium.”

Raskin rose through the ranks at Anderlecht and Gent before making his breakthrough at Standard Liege. He had felt a little out of sight and out of mind in Scotland, however. Yet, a long-awaited call-up should prove to Raskin that his international ambitions can be achieved while wearing a Rangers shirt.

The Belgian media, meanwhile, appear very much on board with the inclusion of a man who could potentially fill a role performed by the veteran Axel Witsel over the last decade.

“For him, the arrival of the French coach [Rudi Garcia] represented a new opportunity,” Walfoot write. “The 24-year-old didn’t miss the opportunity and seized it.

“An undisputed starter [at Rangers], he has already played nearly 3,000 minutes this season and has impressed on numerous occasions. Notably, against Tottenham in the Europa League. 

“Nicolas Raskin has now accumulated a bit of big-game experience, which has likely given him a head start over other competitors. Raskin is currently performing at the best level of his career and could be a serious asset to Rudi Garcia.”

Barry Ferguson speaks out on Raskin rise at Rangers

Barry Ferguson knows what it takes to become a top-level midfielder. And Rangers’ interim boss sees no reason why Raskin cannot follow in his footsteps.

"Nico, since I've come in, I've thought that he has so many good attributes, but also he has a few things he has to work on and he’s open to that. I like that quality, it's the same with a number of my players,” Ferguson says ahead of Sunday’s trip to Celtic Park.

"I'll spend time with him individually but because of the amount of football he's played I've not been able to get many [sessions in with him]. He's probably happy with that, that I can’t get him one-to-one… But I’m delighted for him.

“Nico has had a run now of games, he’s been injury free. Now, I need to see more because I think there’s more in him.

"I really do believe there’s more in him and I’m going to try and squeeze every single bit out of him that I can, because I think Nico can go far in the game."