Just over a year ago, Nicolas Raskin was in the Rangers XI as they suffered a surprise defeat to Motherwell at Ibrox, then didn’t start another game until the fag-end of a season that had long since fizzled out for then manager Philippe Clement and his men.
This season, he didn’t start a game under Clement until the end of September, as niggling injury issues were easier to shake off than the nagging feeling that his compatriot in the Rangers dugout didn’t really fancy him.
It seems incredible now, but while addressing the prolonged benching of Raskin after that Motherwell defeat, Clement cited the performances of not only Mohamed Diomande, but also the likes of Tom Lawrence and Kieran Dowell to explain away why a player many Rangers fans viewed as their most exciting prospect was being frozen out of the first team picture.
Raskin’s performances this term since making it impossible for Clement to ignore him any longer have seen him become an integral part of the Rangers side, and someone who interim manager Barry Ferguson clearly sees as a key component of his midfield set-up. He may also see in Raskin something of his younger self, if not in terms of goal threat, at least in his combative style and relentless energy.
His displays also won Raskin a place in the Belgium squad for their most recent camp, while Celtic’s own promising Belgian midfielder Arne Engels – who at the time of the squad announcement had made four appearances for the Red Devils to Raskin’s none – was left out.
Their basis for this line of thinking is not only the impressive form Raskin has shown of late, but also the perception that Engels has toiled somewhat under the weight of his club record transfer fee, and the weight of expectation that has come along with it.
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When comparing the pair though, it should first be noted that it isn’t really a like-for-like comparison at all. Raskin excels as a dogged, high-energy defensive midfielder who also uses the ball judiciously to get his team moving onto the attack.
Engels, on the other hand, plays in a more advanced position, and uses his eye for a killer pass to play more high-risk balls as he looks to unlock defences.
Without getting too nerdy about it, Raskin, for instance, is in the 98th percentile in the league for the number of tackles he makes adjusted for the amount of possession that his team enjoys (PAdj tackles). He is also in the 92nd percentile for pressure regains, while Engels is in the 24th.
Engels however far outperforms Raskin in creating opportunities for his teammates, with the Celtic midfielder in the 99th percentile in the league for xG assists, while Raskin is down in the 67th.
If that all sounds a bit like Belgian waffle to you, what it all really means is that the two players excel in different areas. In my book though, what seems to be driving the narrative of Raskin outshining Engels comes down to qualities that are a bit less tangible, and harder to quantify on a spreadsheet. The main one being personality.
Engels, at just 21, is an impressive figure when you speak to him off the field. Articulate, thoughtful, relaxed and humorous. Raskin, three years his senior, has remarkably similar qualities. But the Rangers man has been able to make more of an imprint in matches of late, taking games by the scruff of the neck and being a more consistently noticeable presence on the pitch than the Celtic man.
The Old Firm game was of course the main example of this. With Callum McGregor ruled out through injury, Engels was moved back into the deep midfield position by Brendan Rodgers, where he was asked to puff out his chest, take on the leadership role that the Celtic captain normally shoulders, and assume responsibility for getting on the ball and making his side tick.
He was far from alone in underperforming for the champions on the day, but his inability to showcase himself effectively in the absence of such a huge presence as McGregor was disappointing. And the contrast to the all-action display of Raskin was stark.
That ability to dominate matches will presumably be the next stage in Engels’ development. As Raskin has shown, fortunes can fluctuate in football, and (perhaps because of his hefty price tag), the tender age of Engels is often forgotten.
At 21, he has four Belgium caps, 10 Champions League appearances, as well as 10 goals in 44 matches overall for Celtic so far under his belt in his debut season at the club. Time is on his side.
Yes, he will have to do more to first justify the outlay required to sign him, and then to be sold on for the tidy profit that Celtic hope he will attract down the line, but he has hardly been a flop. And he would seem to have all the tools to do just that, it’s just a question of putting them all together.
As for Raskin, his stellar form and his international recognition hardly makes the notion he will attract suitors in the summer willing to pay more than £11m to secure his services an outlandish one. Frankly, with two years still left on his contract, Rangers would be crazy to accept anything less.
As for the question of who is the better player? Time will tell. Raskin is shining brighter at the moment, but given Engels' obvious skillset, does he have the higher ceiling?
At the risk of inflicting numerous skelf wounds to my posterior, my view is that we should just enjoy the fact that two such talented prospects are currently gracing the Scottish game while we can.
My feeling is that neither will be here too long.
