Putting Nico Raskin in front of the cameras at Friday’s pre-match press conference was a very bold move by Rangers. And indeed by Raskin himself. Could it have a twist?

Naturally, we know the huge speculation that has surrounded the Belgian over the summer. And indeed his own admissions that he sought a move.

He has confirmed via his press conference that he did indeed look to make the move to the next level, as he puts it.

Raskin’s intriguing contract admission

But the most telling part in Nico Raskin Rangers twist of the whole conference was not his desire necessarily to leave, but the talk of a new contract.

Raskin was asked if he would be willing to extend his deal and stay at Rangers. And rather than dismissing the idea, he just said it wasn’t up to him. That would be up to the club.

This is a very, very intriguing admission from a guy who we widely know wants to leave Rangers.

Raskin, rather than saying outright yes or no, is claiming that that is out of his hands.

It is definitely not a no regarding staying in Glasgow for longer.

He said:

“I don’t know (about a new deal). It’s not up to me. It’s up to the club.

I’m just trying to work every day as hard as I can, give good performances on the pitch and see what happens.”

Raskin’s love for Rangers

In reality, Raskin does not want to remain at Rangers for the rest of his career. He’s been abundantly clear on the fact that he sees his future elsewhere.

But he also has been very explicit about how much he loves Rangers.

He has never mistreated the club in terms of the fans or the hierarchy.

Yes, we know he can be a handful and has a bit of a bad attitude, to say the least, at times. But he has made it very clear how much he does love Rangers and how much he owes Rangers too.

He is one of the very few players who has ever thanked the club for giving him the platform on which to gain a step up to the national side.

Without Rangers, Nicolas Raskin probably wouldn’t have got picked for Belgium and certainly wouldn’t have gone to the World Cup.

Nevertheless, the point is, will he remain?

Ibrox Noise carried out a poll with our readers about Nico Raskin Rangers twist and to say that this was an overwhelming endorsement of him staying was an understatement. More on that later.

The reality is Rangers fans want to keep the boy en masse.

And now that he’s given an admission that he might even be willing to remain, this is a very intriguing path for this whole story to go.

The January transfer window

The problem that we ultimately have is one good offer from a decent side in a decent league in January that Rangers are willing to accept and Raskin will leave, 100%.

This is not about him resenting Rangers and desiring to get away. He just wants to take that next step.

But he’s been wanting to take that next step for a very, very long time.

The deal did look like it was going to take place with Besiktas in the summer, only for Andrew Cavenagh to block the diabolical decision-making from the now-gone Dan Purdy, whereby the deal would be a loan to Besiktas with an option to buy.

This was definitely not good enough for Rangers.

Nevertheless, if a deal does come in January which is to Rangers’ liking, Raskin will leave.

He will get his move and decide to take the new challenge and the new chapter.

The Rangers and Raskin story continues

But at the same time, that lack of certainty over rejecting a new contract, or at least deflecting the topic in itself, was certainly very telling.

The Rangers and Nico Raskin story continues on and is certainly one with a few twists and turns.