The Ibrox club has no “choice” to make over Raskin. They are desperate to sell him.

There is a lot of noise coming out of Ibrox right now about Nico Raskin. Funny that.

Every transfer window over there needs a poster boy. Every summer needs a player the support can point at and say: “Aye, that’s the one who’s going to bring in the big money.”

This year, it is Raskin. Not because they desperately want to keep him. Quite the opposite. It’s because they desperately need somebody to buy him.

I have seen some of their supporters trying to build a case around the fact he is in Belgium’s World Cup squad while Arne Engels is not. Apparently, that settles the debate. Apparently, that proves Raskin is the better footballer.

Except it proves absolutely nothing. Football does not work like that.

Different managers want different things. Different systems require different players. International football and club football are entirely different environments. One midfielder getting selected ahead of another does not suddenly rewrite everything we have watched with our own eyes over the last couple of seasons.

Kyogo and Maeda were only rarely selected together for Japan, with Maeda getting the preference, even when most Celtic fans thought Kyogo was the more effective striker. He was. Just not in the system their manager wanted to play.

In the same way, Engels and Raskin are different types of player altogether. Comparing them purely on international selection is like comparing a hammer and a screwdriver, then deciding the hammer must be superior because somebody used it last week.

It is nonsense, and what fascinates me is how desperately some people are trying to inflate Raskin’s value.

As Celtic supporters, we have watched this movie before. A decent performance suddenly becomes world class. A solid spell of form becomes “elite”. A player who has never consistently dominated games becomes a £25 million superstar overnight.

The reality is far less glamorous.

Raskin has talent. I will give him that. But consistency? That is another matter entirely.

Even plenty of Ibrox supporters know it. Scratch beneath the surface and you will find the same complaints appearing again and again.

One good game followed by several anonymous ones. A performance that has people raving one week, followed by four where he barely leaves a mark on proceedings. That is not the profile of an elite midfielder. That is the profile of a player whose reputation often runs ahead of his actual output.

Yet every day I see another story presenting some great “dilemma” for the Ibrox club.

Should they sell him? Can they afford to lose him? Will they resist the offers? Dilemma? What dilemma? There is no dilemma. None whatsoever.

If a substantial bid lands on the table, he is gone. Immediately. Without hesitation.

Without sleepless nights. Without dramatic boardroom discussions.

The ink would barely be dry on the paperwork before somebody was helping him pack his bags. Because for all the romantic talk about building a team and challenging Celtic, football finances still matter.

And the Ibrox club needs money. That is the uncomfortable truth sitting in the corner of the room that nobody wants to discuss.

The support might dream about keeping their best players together. The media might spin tales of difficult decisions. But if a club needs funds and a sizeable offer arrives for an asset whose value may never be higher, the decision practically makes itself.

That is just football. Indeed, if I were sitting in the Ibrox boardroom and somebody arrived with an offer significantly above his true market value, I would be signing the documents before they had the chance to change their mind.

Before the buying club started watching every performance rather than every highlight reel. Before they realised consistency remains the biggest question mark hanging over his game. That may sound harsh.

But football history is littered with players whose transfer values peaked long before their actual performances did. Sometimes the smartest deal is the one you make while everybody still believes the hype.

As I sit here with my Ginger Witch instincts twitching away, I cannot shake the feeling that this entire story is less about Nico Raskin’s footballing future and more about the Ibrox club’s financial reality.

The World Cup squad announcement has simply provided a convenient marketing brochure.

A shiny badge to attach to the player before the window gathers pace.

Maybe it works. Maybe somebody sees the international squad place, sees the headlines and decides to spend a fortune. If they do, the Ibrox club will not be agonising over the decision. They will be celebrating it.

Because despite all the grand talk of dilemmas and impossible choices, some truths in football are beautifully simple.

When a club needs money and a big offer arrives for a player who flatters to deceive more often than he delivers, there is not a dilemma at all.

There is only a receipt waiting to be printed.

A wee Ginger Witch truth to finish: football transfers are often sold as emotional sagas, but behind the curtain they are usually cold calculations.

If the right number appears beside Nico Raskin’s name this summer, sentiment will vanish faster than mist rolling off the Clyde at dawn.

The only real question is whether somebody else sees a future superstar, or whether the Ibrox club is simply hoping they do.

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