Glasgow Rangers held their annual player of the year award ceremony on Sunday evening. After a campaign filled with disarray at Ibrox, many would have wondered why the club bothered.
Nevertheless, several first-team players won awards on the night. John Souttar claimed the John Greig CBE Achievement Award while Hamza Igamane won the Men’s Goal of the Season award for his stunning late winner against Celtic at Parkhead in March.
Elsewhere, Cyriel Dessers won the Sam English Bowl for being the club’s top scorer this season. The most deserving award, however, went to Nicolas Raskin, who won both the Men’s Players’ Player of the Year and Men’s Player of the Year awards, with both the players and supporters recognising the Belgian’s achievements.
With the 49ers Enterprises takeover looking like it could go ahead before the start of next season, they will be keen on building as strong a squad as possible.
Financial investment would be welcome, of course, but keeping the club’s best players for a tilt at the Premiership title next term is the main aim.
Having won two awards on the weekend, Raskin is certainly one player who could attract plenty of attention this summer, no doubt about that.
Nico Raskin: Rangers most indispensable player?
Michael Beale may go down as one of the worst managers in the history of the football club, but paying a fee of just £1.5m to bring the young midfielder to Ibrox is arguably the best decision he made while in charge.
He may have struggled to assert his authority during his first few months at the club, but the persistence the former Standard Liege starlet has shown is now beginning to pay off.
After suffering an injury in pre-season last summer, it appeared as though Raskin would never fulfil his potential at Ibrox. Upon his return to the first-team picture in September, the 23-year-old has been a revelation.
Nine goal contributions have been registered across 43 appearances in all competitions, but it was his opener against Celtic in the 3-2 win last month which was the most important.
Raskin even captained the side during the festive season when James Tavernier was sidelined through injury, and he gave a dominating performance in the Old Firm clash at the turn of the year.
The midfielder has shown in the Premiership so far this term. His tenacious nature has certainly been on display, making 2.9 tackles per game and winning an impressive 6.5 total duels per match – a success rate of 57% – which has allowed the player to dominate at the heart of the pitch.
Going forward, however, Raskin has demonstrated his attacking abilities. Not only has he created six big chances for his teammates, but the Belgian also averages one key pass and 0.9 successful dribbles per match in the top flight.
This combination of attacking and defensive traits makes Raskin a prized asset at Ibrox. There will be a time when the club decides to cash in, but he could be the fulcrum of a new-look side at the start of next season.
Who shouldn’t be at the club next season? Well, it may be a bit of a surprise to some.
Rangers' most dispensable player?
While the 49ers will be keen on strengthening the squad, they must also balance the books by moving several players this summer.
It shouldn’t be a difficult decision on who to release and sell, especially with so many players underperforming throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
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Dessers may have won the Sam English Bowl, but in reality, the Gers must cash in on him before the start of next season.
Beale may have spent little to bring Raskin to Scotland, but the opposite is true of Dessers’ move to Glasgow. Indeed, he cost around £4.5m from Serie A side Cremonese in the summer of 2023.
Given that Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent had left for free just a month or so before, Beale had to inject some goals into his side ahead of the 2023/24 season. Dessers had netted just ten goals the season prior, hardly the prolific forward Beale required.
Goals
16
13
Assists
4
2
Big chances missed
27
20
Shots per game
2.9
2.2
Goal conversion percentage
16%
19%
A total of 22 goals and nine assists during his maiden year at the Light Blues certainly appears to be a decent tally, but diving deeper, Dessers could have scored a lot more.
In the Premiership alone, he missed a staggering 27 big chances across 35 matches, often taking three or four opportunities to find the back of the net.
This season hasn’t exactly been much of an improvement. 13 domestic goals have been scored thus far, yet he has still missed 20 big chances in the top flight. With four games to go, this figure could still rise.
Scottish analyst John Walker dubbed the centre-forward as “poor” during a pre-season friendly against Manchester United last July. He may offer plenty in terms of work rate and determination, but the Nigerian striker simply isn’t the right man to lead the club into a new era under the 49ers.
The 30-year-old has two years left on his current contract at Rangers, which means this summer represents the perfect chance to try and make back some of the £4.5m that was spent on him two years ago.
Not only that, but he is also one of the highest earners at the Light Blues. Taking home a wage of £27k-per-week, Dessers ranks second behind only Tavernier in terms of earnings.
There is no doubt that freeing up this money in the summer and redirecting it back into bringing one or two younger talents would be the best thing to do.
The club face one of the most important transfer windows in recent memory this summer. Get things right and Celtic could be set for a serious title challenge next season.
On the flip side, however, if the same mistakes are made, Rangers will continue to be left in the wake of their rivals as they motor to a fifth consecutive title.
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