Former club captain Lee McCulloch believes Rangers signing Jake Hastie is a ‘no-brainer’, with the winger widely believed to be on the brink of signing a pre-contract with the club.
STV have reported that the 20-year-old is due to be announced this week as joining Steven Gerrard’s squad come the end of the season, when his current deal at Motherwell expires.
The attacker doesn’t have a lot of senior experience, only gaining his first start for the Steelmen in January, leading some to believe that bringing him to Ibrox is a bit premature.
McCulloch though reckons the Gers are on to a winner.
As quoted by The Evening Times, the former Gers captain said:
Rangers signing Jake Hastie is not a gamble. It is a bit of a no-brainer to be honest and he will go on to be a great bit of business for them in the coming years.
When you sign a 20-year-old on a long-term deal, of course you are thinking a wee bit down the line in terms of really getting the best out of him and Jake reaching his full potential in the game.
But I am sure Steven Gerrard will be expecting him to come in and make an impact for Rangers next season. If he is part of the squad, he is there to play and contribute to a team that will be looking to challenge for the title.
Jake has a chance to go in there and stake his claim for a spot and it will be really interesting to see how he does for Rangers as he looks to kick-on again next term.
Hastie may have limited appearances in the Scottish top-flight, but he has scored seven goals in a short amount of time so far in 2019 and has demonstrated he has the power and pace to really trouble opposition defenders.
Having to only pay a compensation fee means he arrives at Ibrox with little pressure on his shoulders too and while he has it all to prove, fans are likely to be patient with him considering he is just 20 years of age.
Hopefully in the short-term and long-term he proves to be an inspired signing.
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