Leeds United monitoring Nicolas Raskin

Leeds United are reportedly monitoring the situation of Standard Liege midfielder Nicolas Raskin.

According to Belgium daily La Dernière Heure, Leeds United are among clubs showing interest in Standard Liege’s 21-year-old midfielder Nicolas Raskin. The Belgium Under-21 international is being monitored by local as well as foreign clubs with Genk, Club Brugge and Lille all among interested parties.

The central midfielder has been a regular for Liege in the Jupiler Pro League over the past two seasons. He was promoted to the club’s first team after spending six months with their Under-21 side after having joined them from Gent in the 2019 January window.

Raskin has since made 78 appearances for them primarily from the centre-midfield spot, scoring four and assisting seven goals. The 21-year-old has just a year remaining on his contract with the Belgian club and there have been no real advancements over a renewal.

Standard Liege could thus be forced to sell him for a fee this summer than risk losing him for free next year. Raskin’s situation has alerted the interested parties, including Leeds United, who are now preparing a move for the midfielder.

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As per the aforementioned report, the youngster is looking for a move abroad which more or less rules out both Genk and Club Brugge, leaving Leeds and Lille in a face-off. He is valued at ‘just over €5 million’, so finances shouldn’t be a problem for either side.

The Whites have closely followed the midfielder over the past year and hold him in high regard, thus an official move can be expected of them in the coming weeks.

Jesse Marsch currently has Mateusz Klich, Kalvin Phillips, Jamie Shackleton and Adam Forshaw as his central midfield options. They are expecting the departure of Phillips, who is now attracting interest from Manchester City and are closing in on the capture of Marc Roca as a potential replacement.

But with the club narrowly avoiding relegation in the recently-concluded season, manager Marsch will want to strengthen in multiple positions and add quality depth to avoid a repeat. As for Raskin, the young midfielder seems like a deal they could complete, but they will have to fend off interest from Lille.