Rangers manager Russell McInnes has commended midfielder Nico Raskin for his composed attitude despite ongoing transfer speculation, as the club navigates the final stretch of the summer window ahead of Thursday's deadline.
Raskin has been the subject of significant interest from other clubs, with discussions reportedly taking place between Rangers and prospective buyers. However, McInnes made clear that no offer meeting the club's expectations has yet been tabled, leaving the Belgian to focus on his training in the meantime.
"Obviously there's been a lot of chat about potential interest and there's been a lot of conversations had with the club and prospective buyers," McInnes said. "But, until an offer comes in that the club need to consider, Nico just has to knuckle down and train."
The Rangers boss expressed confidence that Raskin would continue to perform at a high level for the club regardless of the transfer noise surrounding him. "I've no doubts that, if the window closes and Nico's still a Rangers player, he'll give brilliant service as he's done previously," McInnes added. "He's getting interest because he's a good player. I want to work with good players. We just need to wait and see how things develop."
On the incoming front, McInnes suggested Rangers are close to finalising one more signing before the deadline passes. Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy, 22, is reportedly nearing a move from Portland Timbers and looks set to be brought in as cover following an injury setback for Youssef Chermiti, whose long-term issue emerged last month at a time when he was attracting considerable transfer interest of his own.
"We're still working hard to get one in at the minute," McInnes said. "We're getting closer on that one, but we believe it's only going to be the one in."
He underlined the importance of bringing in a forward to offset the loss of Chermiti. "If we can get a striker in, that helps alleviate the disappointment of Youssef's injury. I think that would be pretty important for us," McInnes explained, while also acknowledging the balancing act involved in squad planning. "It wasn't something we were looking to do, so you've got to weigh everything up both from a financial and a numbers point of view in terms of the squad."
Rangers have been particularly active in the transfer market this summer, having already brought in 12 new players in addition to McInnes's own arrival from Heart of Midlothian. The manager expressed satisfaction with the squad rebuild so far. "I think the club have made the right improvements in certain areas and I think we've had a lot of good work done," he said, adding that while one more addition is the priority, further business cannot be ruled out. "I'm saying one – you never know, it might be more than one – but, if we can get the one in that we want, it certainly helps alleviate a problem we've got at the minute."
Meanwhile, departures look likely to pick up pace as the deadline approaches. Midfielder Lyall Cameron has already completed a loan move to Dundee United, while winger Ross McCausland, striker Bojan Miovski, and defenders John Souttar and Clinton Nsiala have all been linked with exits from Ibrox.
"On players out, there's been a few conversations had," McInnes noted. "There may well be things developing over the next 24-48 hours on that front."
With the deadline looming, Rangers fans can expect further twists on both the incoming and outgoing fronts before the window officially shuts.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.