Derek McInnes has once again left Nicolas Raskin out of his Rangers squad for this afternoon’s Scottish Premiership meeting with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, with the midfielder’s future at Ibrox continuing to dominate the conversation around his absence.
Raskin did not travel with Rangers for Thursday night’s Conference League play-off second leg against Jablonec, despite having trained in Glasgow the morning of the Gers departure.
“Nico hasn't travelled, nothing to do with injury or anything like that, just the potential of a transfer,” McInnes said before the Jablonec match.
“He's trained this morning, but he's been left back in Glasgow.
“When I came into the job, it was quite clear that there was maybe going to be an opportunity for Nico elsewhere.
“There's been plenty of interest in him. We believe that interest has stepped up over the last couple of days.
“So, something may or may not happen. If Nico stays beyond the window, then it would be great to work with him, but if he doesn't, we wish him well.”
No offers yet for Raskin
However, following Rangers' penalty shootout defeat in Czechia, McInnes appeared to offer a slightly different assessment of the situation.
The Rangers boss insisted that there had been no formal offers for Raskin, despite acknowledging that there had been discussions regarding the midfielder.
“There have been no offers for Nico,” McInnes said.
“It’s just been quite a few conversations, so I don’t know where that was. Certainly not today, ahead of the game - I hadn’t heard anything.
“So, I don’t know where that’s at. That may well change.”
McInnes also admitted that Rangers missed Raskin's experience during spells of the Jablonec game, although he was keen not to use the Belgian's absence as an excuse for the result.
“I did think we lacked a bit of experience in the middle of the pitch at times,” he said.
“I think any team would miss somebody like Nico, but I need to say that’s not the reason why we’ve lost tonight. We should still have enough in the building, as I said.”
Rangers squad vs Aberdeen
Now, with Rangers returning to domestic action at Pittodrie, Raskin remains absent from the matchday squad.
The latest team news confirms that McInnes has made four changes to the side which featured in Czechia, with Kim Min-Su handed a starting debut following his arrival from Girona on Thursday.
Cammy Devlin, Findlay Curtis and Lawrence Shankland also come into the starting XI. Devlin returns after missing Thursday due to a red card picked up in the first-leg the week prior.
Ivor Pandur continues in goal, with Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya and James Penrice forming the back four.
Devlin partners Dan Neil in midfield, while Min-Su, Djeidi Gassama and Curtis are tasked with providing support to Shankland in attack.
Raskin is not among the substitutes either, with Liam Kelly, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Ben Godfrey, Connor Barron, Tochi Chukwuani, Vanja Dragojevic, Thelo Aasgaard, Daisuke Yokota and Ryan Naderi making up the bench.
The developments leave Raskin's Rangers future increasingly uncertain with the transfer window entering its final stages.
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