Peter Lovenkrands has his say on Rangers’ two best performers this season – Nico Raskin and Vaclav Cerny
Peter Lovenkrands says Rangers’ new owners could face a major dilemma over prized asset Nico Raskin – keep him or fund an Ibrox rebuild.
The Dane was at Sunday’s Old Firm draw with Celtic where Raskin picked up the man-of-the-match award with another impressive display.
He’s been Gers’ best player in a disastrous campaign but at 24 is a valuable, sellable asset.
Lovenkrands would love Raskin to stay at Ibrox long-term but says new sporting director Kevin Thelwell – along with the potential American owners set to arrive – will have to make a big call on the Belgian international’s future.
And he’s claimed they may have to take a leaf out of Celtic’s books when it comes to player trading.
He said: “Raskin is potentially the most valuable player in the squad. He’s proven it and been fantastic – definitely Rangers’ player of the year.
“But when Celtic have had good players who have been great for them, they sell them on and get a lot of money. They’re great at that and have been doing it for years.
“When Rangers have had them, we haven’t sold them when we should have, like Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
“That’s a problem for the club so you need to look at the bigger picture with Raskin.
“Are you going to sell him or keep him and try to build the team around him? He’s a young boy but they need money coming in.
“Where will that come from if they don’t sell him? How much is he worth? It depends what league is looking at him. If it’s the Premier League you can always put a wee bit extra on top. But he’s definitely the most valuable player they have.”
Another star performer this season has been on-loan Czech winger Vaclav Cerny. And Lovenkrands says if there’s money to spend in the summer, they should try to sign him permanently.
He said: “It depends how much it is to get him and the situation with the club in terms of who takes over. If the takeover happens and there’s money to back it, yes, sign him. But if not, they might be able to.”
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