Nicolas Raskin becomes Rangers enforcer with unseen midfield engine room role that surpasses Lundstram and Kamara

Neil McCann played for Rangers during an era when they were blessed with some of the greatest ever midfielders to pull on the light blue jersey. Barry Ferguson, Jorg Albertz, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Claudio Reyna were just some of the stars of the engine during his four-and-a-half years at Ibrox.

In fact, at one point during Dick Advocaat’s successful spell in charge the strength in depth of the midfield options was highlighted by the fact Tugay couldn’t even get a look-in when it was clear the Turkish star signed from Galatasaray was a quality player - something he would get the chance to demonstrate during eight years in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and almost 100 caps for Scotland.

McCann knows better than most what it takes to be a successful midfielder at Rangers, the club where he won nine major honours. And the signing of Nicolas Raskin has made the 48-year-old stand up and take notice. Rangers’ recruitment has been criticised with fans looking for freshness in a squad that still has so many members dating back to the Steven Gerrard era - in some cases even from his first summer in charge in 2018. Fans believe it should be a case of ‘out with the old and with the new’ and in the Belgian they have someone who can lead that new era.

Aged just 22, he’s young. And his style of play is energetic with a vigour that has impressed the fans. Michael Beale’s decision to start him on the bench in the Viaplay Cup final against Celtic raised eyebrows and it was no surprise to see the former Standard Liege man start in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock as Rangers responded to they Hampden loss.

McCann was impressed as he talked up Raskin on BBC Sportscene. “He’s a player I’ve looked into a wee bit and asked