Glasgow Rangers have had mixed success in the transfer market in recent years as they have pulled off a few blinders and been stung by a few big flops.
Sam Lammers and Jose Cifuentes were both signed on permanent deals by former Light Blues boss Michael Beale last summer, and they were both sent out on loan by Philippe Clement in the recent January transfer window.
Meanwhile, the likes of Todd Cantwell, Jack Butland, and Abdallah Sima have all emerged as key players for the Scottish giants, having joined over the last 13 months or so.
Beale was not the first Rangers boss to make mistakes in the transfer market, though, and will not be the last. In fact, the man he replaced – Giovanni van Bronckhorst – had his fair share of blunders.
The Dutch head coach decided to part ways with talented maestro Juninho Bacuna at the start of 2022, and that has turned out to be a howler as the midfielder is an upgrade on Nicolas Raskin, who was signed by Beale a year later to fill that gap in midfield.
Juninho Bacuna’s time with Rangers
Steven Gerrard and Ross Wilson swooped to sign the young talent from English side Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2021 on a two-year deal.
The ex-Liverpool midfielder described him as a “powerful” gem and “big talent”, and urged the need for patience with Bacuna to make sure that he could fulfill his development at Ibrox.
Unfortunately, Gerrard opted to leave Scotland to join Aston Villa in the Premier League shortly after that and van Bronckhorst was brought in to replace him in November 2021.
The former Feyenoord head coach was seemingly not prepared to have the patience that the man he replaced felt was needed to get the best out of the exciting midfielder as Bacuna was sold to Birmingham in January 2022.
That came after the Curacao international made six appearances in the Scottish Premiership and started one match for the Scottish giants during the first half of the 2021/22 campaign.
He produced one goal and one assist in those six outings and completed 86% of his attempted passes, which suggests that there were positive signs from his performances in spite of the limited minutes he had on the pitch.
Van Bronckhorst did not give him many chances to showcase his quality on a consistent basis and opted to part ways with the talented gem just two months into their working relationship.
Birmingham swooped in to secure his services midway through the 2021/22 season and Bacuna revealed upon joining the English side that the “opportunity” to play matches was a factor in his decision to move on from the Scottish outfit.
Beale’s swoop to sign Nicolas Raskin
A year on from the club’s decision to sell the midfielder, Beale decided that the Gers lacked a dynamic number eight who can hold his own defensively and contribute with quality at the top end of the pitch.
This led to a move for Standard Liege whiz Nicolas Raskin on a permanent deal, for a reported fee of around £1.75m, in January of last year.
He had produced four assists in 16 Pro League appearances during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, to go along with a duel success rate of 58%, which showed that the Belgian gem could make an impact on and off the ball.
Nicolas Raskin
Premiership – 22/23
Premiership – 23/24
Appearances
12
11
Goals
Zero
One
Assists
One
One
Duel success rate
52%
57%
Tackles per game
1.8
2.5
Interceptions per game
0.5
0.6
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old midfielder struggled to make an instant impact in Glasgow with his lack of attacking contributions and average defensive work in physical battles.
He, as you can also see, has improved slightly during the current campaign, with one more goal contribution and 0.8 more tackles and interceptions combined per match for the side, along with a higher success rate in his duels.
Raskin is yet to set the world alight at Ibrox but there is still plenty of time left for him, at the age of 22, to develop and improve under Clement over the years to come.
However, Bacuna’s performances for Birmingham, particularly this season, make it seem like van Bronckhorst fumbled the club’s own, better version of, Raskin a year before Beale swooped to sign him.
Juninho Bacuna’s form for Birmingham
The 26-year-old midfielder enjoyed his first full season with the Championship side during the 2022/23 campaign and caught the eye with his creativity in the middle of the park.
Bacuna started 33 matches for the club and chipped in with two goals, six assists, and nine ‘big chances’ created, which shows that he liked to step forward to be a difference maker at the top end of the pitch.
He also made 2.5 tackles and interceptions per match for his side – 0.2 more per game than Raskin managed in the Premiership during that time.
23/24 Championship
Juninho Bacuna
Appearances
31
Goals
Five
Assists
Five
Big chances created
Four
Tackles per game
1.8
Interceptions per game
0.8
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the £10k-per-week star has been a huge threat for his team in the final third with his quality as a scorer and a creator from midfield.
Meanwhile, no Rangers central midfielder has produced more than five goals or three assists, with Todd Cantwell topping the charts for both, which illustrates how impressive Bacuna’s return for Birmingham is.
Raskin, as aforementioned, has managed one goal and two assists in 23 Premiership appearances for the Gers, which is one goal contribution every 7.67 games on average. Meanwhile, Bacuna has averaged a goal or an assist every 3.1 outings on average so far this season in the Championship.
When you consider that they have both made tackles and interceptions at a similar rate over the past 18 months or so, the Curacao international could have offered far more to Rangers in the middle of the park.
Bacuna could have provided a big threat in possession when it comes to scoring and creating goals to go along with his similar defensive work, which is why he would be an upgrade on Raskin.
Therefore, van Bronckhorst fumbled a quality player when he decided to sell the midfielder at the start of 2022 and should, instead, have used the patience that Gerrard urged previously.
Birmingham have been rewarded for taking their time with him and Rangers ended up wasting money on, at this moment in time, a seemingly inferior player – in Raskin.
