In the last few seasons we’ve seen Kai Kennedy and Nathan Patterson attract seven-figure bids which is decent money for players who are still in the infancy of their respective careers but it is when the top academy prospects are approaching the end of their contracts that things start to get a bit twitchy.
This week we have seen Manchester United and Newcastle United both linked with moves for Leon King who will soon be able to speak to clubs about a potential pre-contract agreement and follow in the footsteps of Billy Gilmour by turning down the chance of a more likely path to first-team football by heading to one of the richest and most demanding leagues in the world.
But when asked by Follow Follow’s Mark Dingwall about the speculation, the 17-year old centre-half revealed that he doesn’t pay it much attention and that his eyes are firmly fixed on forcing his way into Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s plans:
“To be honest I’m just concentrating on my football here, I don’t really take any interest in what goes on outside of this building and outside these gates.
“That’s what I’m aiming for, obviously with the new boss coming in I’d seen at his previous clubs he’s given youth a chance so that’s what I’m striving towards and getting there. Training with him when he first came in was good so I’m just trying to kick on and get there more regularly.”
King has to be patient and resist the urge to increase his pay packet in the short-term if he wants to play for Rangers, he only needs to look at Patterson to see that if he is good enough, he will play and he is right, in Van Bronckhorst, we have a manager who is more likely than the last one to blood youngsters and throw them in at the deep end.
Rangers are planning contract talks with highly-rated youngster Leon King amid interest from Manchester United and Newcastle United. #RangersFC #mufc #nufc
— Pete O’Rourke (@SportsPeteO) November 29, 2021
Encouragingly, there have also been reports from respected sources that King’s contract is very much on the agenda for Ross Wilson and that persuading him to stay is a matter of urgency. If we want to have a successful player trading model, promoting players from the academy has to be at the heart of this plan, there is no reason why King – like Patterson – can’t become a regular in the first-team squad, if he commits his future to the club.