Nico Raskin admits the prospect of leaving Rangers crossed his mind in the summer but insists he is happy to remain at Ibrox.
It was widely believed that the 25-year-old midfielder, who signed from Standard Liege in January 2023, would move on after being part of the Belgium side that reached the quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Spain.
However, after missing a few games amid speculation about his future, Raskin has become a mainstay in Derek McInnes’ side.
Ahead of the William Hill Premiership game against St Johnstone at Ibrox on Saturday, the playmaker was asked if he had expected to leave in the summer and replied: “Of course, when you’re an ambitious player, you want to keep going higher and higher and higher, so I thought there was a point where maybe I could try to go and get a new challenge after the World Cup.
“But like I said, I’ve never been pushing for something because I’m really happy here, it’s a big club.
“This club helped me to join the Belgian national team, which is a big thing. So I’m really calm with that.
“If something comes and everybody would be happy with it, then I would have looked to see if I could do it or not. But I don’t need to push anything.
“I’m happy, the manager has been amazing with me since he arrived, so it was good this year to have that support from the manager.
“I was quite calm in the game, just taking it day by day, training after training to see where that would take me.”
Asked about the possibility of signing a new deal, he said: “I don’t know, it’s not up to me. It’s up to the club.
“I’m just trying to work every day as hard as I can and try to give a good performance on the pitch and see what happens.”
McInnes also expected Raskin to move on but is more than happy to be working with him.
Regarding the Belgian possibly agreeing a new contact, the Gers boss said: “I normally leave those sort of contract discussions between the club, the player and the agent.
“But if there was an opportunity to work with Nico beyond that, then obviously it’s something that I would not be against.
“I’m enjoying working with him, but equally I understand players may well have other aspirations.
“Nico said to me that he could have had one or two things that he could have jumped at in the transfer window.
“But he’s keen to be here and be part of a successful team.
“Unless something comes up that really turns his head and really turns Rangers’ head, then we keep working together.
“And how long that remains, whether it’s to the end of the season or whether it’s beyond that, too many things can happen.”