This one has been known for a while but now it has been confirmed – Zak Lovelace is officially a Rangers player.
At just 16, the highly rated attacker makes the move from Millwall to Glasgow, where he will initially join the B team set-up, as his progress is monitored and managed accordingly.
Having already played Championship football at The Den, it is clear that the lad has ability – now it is about how far he can go and just how much Rangers can benefit from this type of ‘cross-border’ transfer, which has proved fruitful in the recent past with Calvin Bassey being a very prominent example.
With a similar London background as well as academy and youth football, the former Leicester man is a great example for Lovelace to follow, whilst making his own impact at Ibrox in the years to come.
Ross Wilson was quoted on the official website on the acquisition of the teenager:
“We are delighted to welcome Zak to Rangers. He is an exciting young player and one we are sure will progress here.”
“He has developed really well with the staff at Millwall and we can see lots of potential in him.”
Craig Mulholland, Rangers Head of Academy stated:
“We are very much looking forward to working with him and seeing his accelerated development over the coming months and years in the excellent environment we now have at Rangers.”
“Zak will be well supported by his dad Devon and his strong family unit and we can’t wait to see what level he can reach.”
Unimpressed
It is great that Rangers have picked up another promising talent for the B team, hopefully to progress in good time to be knocking on the first team door before too long, but it is an arrival or two into Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s senior squad now that the supporters are craving, with the Portugal training camp to commence imminently – further updates will surely follow on that front.
As for Millwall and their manager Gary Rowett, they are clearly unhappy with losing Zak Lovelace and the situation that has allowed Rangers to secure the player, upon the expiry of his contract. With the final details of the switch to be set out, Rowett explained on the imminent departure:
“We want him to stay, we’ve always wanted him to stay but sometimes different driving forces means that doesn’t happen. We’ll wait and see how that plays out.”
“It would be a shame. He’s obviously a player that has come through the academy, they’ve worked hard with him, put in lots of hours and you want to see that come to fruition if possible.”