Rangers have added Nicolas Raskin to their midfield in order to strengthen their squad and add more quality to the middle of the park. Raskin, a young, talented midfielder, joins the Scottish giants from Standard Liege in the Belgian Pro League, where he played since 2019 and made 96 appearances, scoring five goals. The 21-year-old has proven to be a consistent player in the middle of the park. He can operate in both defensive and attacking roles as a versatile central midfielder and has a good ability to move the ball around. With his addition, Rangers hope to build on their current success and mount a title challenge for the Scottish Premiership. Below, we look at some stats for the player from the current season.
Nicolas Raskin featured as a defensive midfielder for Standard Liege. The viz above shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other midfielders in the Belgian Pro League for the 2022–23 season. He played 16 matches for Liege, starting in 14 of them and averaging 80 minutes per game. Raskin’s high percentile rank for metrics like defensive duels won, progressive passes and dangerous passes highlight some of his strengths. The young Belgian has also fared impressively in attacking parameters like dribbles, penalty area touches, and expected goal contribution.
Defensive strengths
Nicolas Raskin has usually played at the base of the central midfield as a holding midfielder. The viz above shows the player’s average defensive territory in Belgian Pro League 2022/23. Raskin positions himself near the half-line, commits a good amount of his defensive actions in his own half, and makes interceptions near the defensive and middle thirds.
It can be observed that he has given up a few fouls and has averaged 1.22 fouls in the current season. Raskin has an average of 21.46 duels per 90 and a 53.3% win rate. He averages 2.51 interceptions per match and makes a lot of plays to put high pressure on the opposition’s midfield and final third. The midfielder averages 8.32 recoveries per game, with 30% occurring in the opposing half.
Progressive attributes
In addition to his defensive prowess, Nicolas Raskin also possesses the ability to circulate possession and progress the ball forward. He is currently averaging 0.24 assists per match with an xA rate of 0.13. The above viz illustrates the midfielder’s ability to find progressive passes to the advanced attacking positions. He releases most of the progressive passes down the right flank, and quite a few have reached the penalty box as well. The player averages 46.71 passes per match with a high accuracy of 85.1%. Raskin makes 7.64 passes to the final third and 1.41 passes into the penalty box per match. Additionally, he has created four big chances this season and averages 1.1 key passes per 90 minutes.
Raskin scored one goal and provided four assists in 16 appearances for Standard Liege in the current season. His creativity from the centre of the park is an asset for any team, and he also commits actions in the final third to help his team during attacking moves. The 21-year-old attempts 2.36 dribbles per match with 51.8% accuracy and 2.1 crosses with 32% accuracy. Furthermore, he makes 1.64 touches in the penalty area per match, along with 1.22 progressive runs.
Role at Rangers
The addition of Raskin will impart more strength and quality to the Rangers’ midfield. He can provide a backup option and competition for a starting role with Glenn Kamara, who is also a defensive midfielder by trade. The above viz is a comparison between both players. It can be seen that Raskin is performing better in areas such as defensive duels won, aerial duels won, dangerous passes, xG contribution, and dribbles. Overall, Raskin will provide the Scottish side with necessary reinforcements in midfield.
Nicolas Raskin has been signed by the Rangers in order to add depth and talent to the team. The 21-year-old is a promising player and has amassed a decent level of experience playing regularly in a European top-division league. He brings a physical presence to the centre of the park and links up well with the attack. He is also a player who can stop opposition moves due to his defensive strengths and ability to win duels. For now, it remains to be seen how he performs in the Scottish Premiership, but the player arrives with high expectations.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
