Rangers manager Philippe Clement has high hopes for Nicolas Raskin this season.
The central midfielder had a difficult start to the campaign after limping off with an ankle injury in a July friendly with Ajax.
He returned to the fray in the derby loss a fortnight ago, playing the last 10 minutes of his team’s 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park. It was the Belgian’s first competitive appearance in over three months.
His 2023/24 campaign was marred with injury, but Clement is optimistic that Raskin can make strides this season. “I hope [he can have] a really big one [season],” said the Ibrox boss.
“Nico has a lot of quality and he has a lot of competition also with a good player like Connor Barron. So it's going to be interesting with the two of them.
“But we have a lot of games. So this is going to be the season until the end of January. So that's the next four months and a half that we will play every three days normally.
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“For sure for the internationals, it's something that never happened before in football. There were so many games without a winter break. So we will need all those players to be at their best to perform in all four competitions because we have ambitions in all four competitions. It's not one competition that we throw in.”
Should he remain fit, Raskin will have a part to play this term amidst a hectic schedule.
Indeed, after their clash with Dundee United at Tannadice, Rangers play five games in 15 days and Clement will look to make use of his full squad in such a strenuous run.
Although Raskin faces competition for minutes in upcoming matches, he remains high up in the thoughts of his manager. Clement, though, has admitted his fellow countryman is yet to recapture his initial Rangers form.
“He's not at his best of course because he came out of injury,” said Clement. “But he's getting better and better to grow at his old level again.”
Connor Barron has nailed down a place in the Gers’ engine room since joining the club in the summer.
Deadline-day arrival Nedim Bajrami adds a different dynamic but forgotten-man Raskin could yet re-emerge as a considerable option for Clement.
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