Rangers first centre-half pairing of pre-season was very much one that, at one stage, didn’t look like it would ever happen given the speculation surrounding their respective futures.
Leon King is highly thought of and turned down bigger offers to stay at the club and as for Connor Goldson, he took until his contract had expired before putting pen to paper on a new deal.
King might not yet be pencilled in to repeat his start against Partick Thistle last week when the proper action kicks off, however, he has all the attributes requited to one day make the step up, a sentiment shared by former Gers right-back, Alan Hutton, as told to Football Insider:
“I’m interested to see Leon King this year.
“I think when I did watch him last season, he was like a big Rolls Royce, very elegant on the ball. He came out, kept possession and looked very comfortable for someone of such a young age.
“With the likes of [Leon] Balogun leaving, Goldson signing a new contract, we know Souttar’s coming in, you need that competition for places to drive you on.
“So I’d like to see him try and break through, stamp his authority in this team, in his own way. I think he’s got all the potential and he ticks all the boxes for a modern-day centre-back.“
Interestingly, our first goal against Thistle involved King playing a 50-yard diagonal to Scott Wright on the right wing to get in behind our opponents, usually, it is Goldson hitting them to the other side.
This is exactly the sort of thing that Hutton is talking about, since King made his debut as a 16-year old, he has never looked out of place or looked flustered, his composure on the ball is a huge asset for a team that likes to build up from the back.
It’s not an easy position to play as a teenager in senior football, never mind for Rangers, but he won’t be expected to hold down a regular starting place just yet, especially with the likes of Calvin Bassey, John Souttar and Filip Helander still at the club, what he can do is learn from them all and in particular Goldson, to give himself the best possible chance of success in a light blue shirt.