Nicolas Raskin will not be leaving Rangers for Beşiktaş, despite the two clubs finally managing to reach an agreement.
That is according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who says the midfielder has rejected the move to Turkey to remain at Ibrox under Derek McInnes.
It brings a pretty dramatic end to negotiations which had already taken several turns on Wednesday.
Raskin rejects Beşiktaş after Rangers agreement
Earlier in the day, Rangers had appeared to be the ones holding up Raskin’s departure.
Yağız Sabuncuoğlu reported that the Ibrox side had initially accepted Beşiktaş’s offer. They then tried to change the terms as the Turkish club prepared to complete the transfer. The proposed deal was a loan with a purchase clause included.
Talks continued in an attempt to solve the disagreement. Sabuncuoğlu later said Rangers had rejected improved terms from both Beşiktaş and Al-Ittihad.
Raskin even trained with Rangers on Wednesday while all of that was going on. There then appeared to be a breakthrough between the clubs.
Tavolieri says Rangers and Beşiktaş eventually agreed a deal. This time, though, Raskin was the problem.
The journalist reports the 25-year-old was “not convinced” by the project offered to him in Istanbul. He therefore rejected the transfer.
Tavolieri is categorical about what happens next: Raskin will not join Beşiktaş and the deal is off.
Very different tone from Turkey
The message from Turkey shortly beforehand was completely different. Sercan Dikme had reported that Beşiktaş were racing against time to get the transfer completed.
He said negotiations for Raskin were continuing while the Turkish side also worked quickly on a Plan B.
According to Dikme, Raskin was simply waiting for Rangers and Beşiktaş to reach an agreement. He was said to be open to joining the Istanbul club.
Beşiktaş were therefore trying to convince Rangers while simultaneously protecting themselves with an alternative midfield target.
Their intention from the start had been to register their new signings for European competition. That added some urgency to proceedings.
Clearly, something changed somewhere along the way. Dikme had Raskin waiting for the green light between the clubs. Tavolieri now says that green light eventually arrived, only for the player himself to say no.
So Raskin is staying at Ibrox instead of joining Beşiktaş. After everything that happened on Wednesday, that certainly wasn’t where this appeared to be heading a few hours ago.
