In an attempt to avoid what would be a frustrating transfer blow this summer, the 49ers are now reportedly set to go all out to keep hold of one of their most talented Rangers stars.
Rangers' important summer looms
Having been forced to watch on as Celtic picked up yet another Scottish Premiership this season, Rangers are set for a crucial summer transfer window. Before any incomings on the pitch, however, the Gers must finally find a permanent replacement for Philippe Clement, who they sacked back in February. And whilst Barry Ferguson has had some moments to remember as interim boss, it looks as though the 49ers are set to look elsewhere.
In the space of three months, several names have been mentioned in relation to the job with a decision needed sooner rather than later at the end of the season. Just who leads the race to enter the technical area between the likes of Steven Gerrard, Marco Rose and Rafael Benitez remains to be seen, however, ahead of a decision that the 49ers must get right.
On the pitch, meanwhile, the show must go on and Rangers must prepare to end their season on a high with just three Scottish Premiership games left to play. Playing host to Aberdeen on Sunday, Ferguson will be undoubtedly keen to see his side take any positives gained in a 1-1 draw against Old Firm rivals Celtic and turn those into all three points.
The interim boss reiterated that he’s ready to take the job on a permanent basis after the Gers earned a point against the champions, telling reporters: “Everybody’s got an opinion, I don’t care about people’s opinion, I know I can do the job.
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“I know I’ve got a real good staff behind me. I’ve been asked this question two or three weeks in a row, I think it’s clear, it doesn’t scare me one single bit. I know there’s a hell of a lot of work to be done, everybody knows that. And that’s a challenge that I would meet head on. And I know I would change it.”
Rangers desperate to keep Nicolas Raskin
It’s not just the technical area that those at Ibrox must worry about this summer, of course. The Gers also need to fend off any interest in their star men in order to hand whoever they hire the best chance possible at success.
With that said, according to TeamTalk, the 49ers are now set to go all out to keep Nicolas Raskin and fend off interest from Premier League sides Aston Villa and Leeds United. The midfielder has been a bright spark in a difficult season at times and is set to be offered a new deal which reiterates his importance.
Earning plenty of praise as a result of his performances, Belgium manager Rudi Garcia told reporters when asked about Raskin: “I have Youri Tielemans, I have Amadou Onana and who do I have behind? Well of course when you see Raskin’s match in the return leg against Ukraine well you tell yourself that we’ve won a midfielder for the future.
“Because Nico has shown the he’s able to be aggressive, defensive, win duels, he’s able to propose himself because he likes to come search the balls, he played almost 100 balls during the game with more than 90% pass accuracy, while playing forward, because it’s easy to have 90% pass accuracy when you only play backwards.”