An update has emerged regarding Glasgow Rangers' efforts to bolster their squad at Ibrox during the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

The 4th Official has revealed that the Light Blues have struck a deal to sign Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin on a permanent basis ahead of next week's transfer deadline.

They tweeted: "Rangers have reached an agreement with Standard Liege for the transfer of Nicolas Raskin. Personal terms had already been agreed with the Belgian. As I said in my last post on this from 5 days ago, Rangers were looking at a 4 and a half year deal."

The 21-year-old's contract with the Pro League club is due to expire at the end of the season, and this allowed the Premiership giants to speak with the player before agreeing a fee with Liege.

Ryan Jack upgrade

Ross Wilson could land Michael Beale an upgrade on current Rangers box-to-box midfielder Ryan Jack by getting this deal for Raskin over the line in the coming days.

In the Premiership this season, the 30-year-old Scotland international has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.94 across 14 appearances for the Light Blues.

The former Aberdeen midfielder has averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.8 tackles and interceptions per match for the Gers, which shows that he makes contributions at both ends of the pitch whilst maintaining an impressive average performance level.

However, Raskin could be an upgrade on the Scottish dynamo if he can translate his form in the Pro League for Standard Liege over to the Premiership.

In the Belgian top flight this season, the 21-year-old has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.01 in 16 outings and made 1.1 key passes and 3.7 tackles and interceptions per outing.

These statistics indicate that the youngster could offer a similar level of creativity whilst offering far more defensively in comparison to the current Rangers midfielder.

Raskin, who journalist Bob Faesen once hailed as "powerful", could also be a more reliable option for Beale, as Jack has a history of missing matches due to injury.

The Scotsman has suffered 15 separate injury issues for Rangers since the start of the 2017/18 campaign and has missed 40 games in all competitions since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, the Standard Liege maestro, who is nine years younger than Jack, has only sat out eight matches due to injury in his career - spanning the last three seasons - and this suggests that the Belgian gem is not as much of a liability as the 30-year-old when it comes to his fitness.

Therefore, Raskin could be a notable upgrade on the Rangers midfielder due to the quality that he could offer on the pitch, his injury record, and his long-term potential at the age of just 21.