We always used to talk about the Steven Gerrard effect when we signed new players. Joe Aribo turned down a move to the Premier League to sign for a childhood hero, Ryan Kent followed him from Liverpool and, of course, Jermain Defoe. But now, it looks as though Michael Beale can be equally as persuasive.
Rangers is a massive club and rarely should signing for us need to be sold, however, if a transfer target has interest from La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, then, that is a different story – playing Livingston and Kilmarnock eight times a season isn’t for everyone.
In his exclusive interview with Rangers TV, Nicolas Raskin has revealed why he chose to come to Ibrox and whey the manager’s intervention sealed the deal:
“We spoke about my position in the squad, how he sees me play and everything. The manager convinced me to come because I had a few other interested clubs but no other manager talked to me like him and convinced me.
“So, I was very, very good with how he talked to me. I wanted to come straight after he talked to me.”
From the interview it’s clear that Raskin has been sold on what will be expected of him and the pressure of winning every game, his English is also very impressive for such a young man who has never played outside of Belgium after making his senior debut as a 16-year old for Gent.
One thing that can be said of Beale is that he is an incredibly passionate speaker when it comes to football. He appeared on podcasts during and after his first spell at Rangers, has his own blog where he dissects tactics and his press conferences now require two videos when they are posted on social media because they are that long. It is easy to see how Beale could sell a vision of what he wants a player to be in his team.
Hopefully, in the summer, he is equally adept at bringing in our top targets.