Rangers have a few talented youngsters currently spread throughout Scottish football and beyond, with few of them expected to genuinely challenge for a first-team place when they return.
Kai Kennedy starred for Dunfermline at the weekend with one goal and two assists, Lewis Mayo is getting a regular game for Partick Thistle in a defence that set a clean sheet record recently and Josh McPake is attracting attention from both north and south of the border, however, none of the Scotland Under-21 internationals have been showing the sort of form that suggests they could make the grade under Giovanni van Bronkhorst.
One player who has already shown what he can do in the first-team is Glenn Middleton, who broke though as a fresh faced 18-year old under Steven Gerrard, but struggled for regular game time until going out on loan with St Johnstone in the second half of last season.
For all that he might not be pulling up trees in terms of goals and assists – some of that can be attributed to his team’s style of play and the quality of some of his team-mates – in a team that dominates possession, keeps their wingers high and wide, with strikers who can actually finish, he might have a better chance of contributing at the sharp end of the pitch and he deserves a second chance under a manager who would use him properly.
Speaking recently to Football Scotland, Middleton explained that he still harbours ambitions of returning to Ibrox and making an impact:
“Everyone will want to impress the new boss and it’s up to each of us to prove we’re up for the challenge.
“Hopefully if I’m playing well every week in the Premiership, Rangers will want me back.
“I’m a different player now to when I played under [Steven] Gerrard in his first season. I’ve shown at Saints that I can play in a few different positions.”
“I’ll be forever grateful for everything he did for me in that first season. He put trust in me. But it’s about kicking on now.”
I’ll be honest, I have a soft spot for Middleton. I think he has enough attributes to be a success but hasn’t found the right club or system yet, Gio’s Rangers might just be it. It has to be remembered that in his first season he managed five goals and five assists in 29 appearances, a little over 10 full games in terms of minutes, and that was in a squad that was significantly poorer than the current one – no Ianis Hagi or Joe Aribo to pick him out.
As with Stephen Kelly, it will be interesting to see how Van Bronckhorst deals with the young players who are at a pivotal stage of their careers, he has a track record of developing youth, let’s see if Middleton gets his wish.