Michael Beale's Nicolas Raskin Rangers transfer update - Full Q+A

Here is everything he had to say.

How close is the Raskin deal?

No closer officially than when I spoke to you on Saturday. As soon as we have any difference on that in the next 24 hours we’ll let you know. I was just seeing on the TV that’s it done, that’s not true.

What do you like about the player?

He’s an excellent player, there’s loads of interest and he has a lot of options. He can connect the midfield and forwards, he is technically very good and can play as a No.6 or a No.8. Yeah, he will be a good signing for someone.

Why do you need to strengthen in midfield?

Competition. If you think about who left that position of the pitch, Joe Aribo, what did he bring? Legs and energy. It’s lazy to say he and Tillman are similar because they’re not. Malik brings something different to Joe and I feel that type of player would help us. One more would compete with Jack, Lundstram and Kamara.

Could other midfielders go elsewhere?

Maybe one or two of the young ones that’s a possibility. We have a couple of loan players in and have to decide whether we want to retain them long term. If we didn’t, maybe there will be an opportunity for them to go back as well. I want players who are going to be here for the long term who can compete right now to make us stronger but also in the long term.

Are you confident Raskin will arrive?

I think there is a lot of competition for his signature in Europe. He’s an eye-catching one because of his age and his contract is running down. He’s a player that’s very well thought of in the Belgian national team set-up as well. Look, I can’t confirm anything but we’re closer. It’s not guaranteed right this second.

What about Morgan Whittaker?

He will be staying at Swansea I believe.

What’s happened there?

There was just one bid that went in that got rejected. There’s been a lot of hot air around the situation. I think he’s a boy they like, that’s why they brought him back from Plymouth. They’ve obviously got their plans with him. I thought he was the most eye-catching player in League One this season and he’s gone back to Swansea, they’re probably looking at the league table and thinking he’s a valuable asset. There’s no problem with it, he’s a good player and I wish him and Swansea well.

Is there another target lined up for that position?

I think when Todd’s come in and Ianis is back it’s like 'where would these players fit right now'? Maybe in the summer, I’d have a clearer picture. I’d like to bring another No.9 that’s different to the ones we’ve got. My eyes are on that, I have my target on that but that target is probably not available right now but will be in the summer. I don’t want to give him any names on that because someone else might like him but I’ve got my eye on a very specific player for the summer. I’m hoping we will be able to do that then.
(Image: NQ)

Would you prefer a different way to bridge the gap for young players than the Lowland League?

B-team football is never going to bridge it so this is the next best thing. They do have a regular games programme and they do play against men and various opponents and it is for three points so in that sense I think it’s good. But you can’t judge the level of the Lowland League to what we’re competing to do week in and week out. We’re preparing to win trophies, to fight at the top of the league to try and win the league and to qualify and compete better in European competition. That is the level that I judge the team on and the players on every day. I only want people in the building I think can compete at that level. For young players to jump from the Lowland League to our first team, that’s a big jump. Their biggest games are during the week in training. When they come over today, for example, Aaron Lyall, Robbie Ure, Zak Lovelace will train with us. That’s the biggest challenge they’ll have this week, not their games.

Antonio Colak said you had tracked him before he joined Malmo. Were players like Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin on your list of players you would like when you joined Rangers?

In terms of Antonio, that’s correct. When he was back at Rijeka we looked at him, he was a player that was scouted. He went off to PAOK and went on loan to Malmo and scored two goals against us so he hit us right in the face. It seemed like we missed out on him when he did that but obviously you come back and he’s in the squad and it’s nice you can say to a player that you knew him three or four years ago and you can speak to him about some moments in his career. In terms of Todd, Todd’s a player that I’ve always been aware of. It’s a player that we felt might’ve been not in our range at one part. Then you sit down and have a conversation and realise that he’s very aligned with our project and is looking for a project like it. That was a lot of good work on everybody’s part. In terms of Raskin, he’s a boy we’ve been aware of as well since we played Standard Liege. They had him and a boy called Bastien whose now at Burnley. They have Amallah that looks like he might move to Spain. We had two excellent games with them and he was the player when we were analysing them that really jumped out because he was 18/19 at the time. I’m delighted that we’re being linked with him and hopefully more than that.

What are your plans for Jon McLaughlin if you were to bring another body in?

Jon and Robby are understudies to Allan at the moment. At certain times, Jon or Robby will play. Robby is still injured and two or three weeks away minimum, unfortunately, so he’s not been in the loop in terms of being able to compete with the other two. They’ve not really had a fair fight out if you like. I wanted to stabilise the team in terms of the back four and take a little bit of doubt away. I think we’ve done that and that’s why our form’s been good in terms of the results.

If you get Raskin done is that you finished in the transfer window?

It’s not done but anything can happen in the next 24 hours.

Does James Sands still have a role to play between now and the end of the season?

All the players are going to have a part to play. If one or two things happen in the next 24 hours it moves the goalposts for everyone. My office is like a doctor's office this morning. There were one or two waiting that wanted to have a conversation. All positive but obviously when new players come in it does move the goalposts and it gets competitive. That’s what I want. That’s what we’ve not had probably for the first month of me coming in, the second month just finished is a lot more like it in terms of competition. I felt at the weekend that was the strongest squad that I’ve been able to pick from so far.

Are you looking to add a centre-back in this window?

I think we need to move forward just because there’s a little bit of uncertainty around our centre-half positions. When Connor and Ben weren’t fit we had to play midfielders there or Leon. Leon’s had a fantastic first half of the season but that was a lot of pressure thrown on his young shoulders as well. I just want some certainty in that position and if we were to get an injury I still want certainty because you build a team from the back forward and you build a team out of possession first. It really helps if you have mainstays in the centre of your team.

Are you confident you’ll get something done before the end of the window?

There are one or two really interesting things. They become much more clear in the summer if I’m honest but if we can force something through we’ll try to.