The Rangers academy was neglected for years until Dave King and company swept to power when subject matter experts like Craig Mulholland and Graeme Murty were given the opportunity to fully implement the plans needed to benefit the club in the long-term.
In Nathan Patterson we have seen the emergence of a multi-million pound player but we face an annual battle to hold onto the next crop who are looking to emulate the Scotland international.
One such player is B team regular Leon King who, at 17-years old, has already made two appearances for the first-team under Steven Gerrard and was on the bench last week for the visit of Sparta Prague just 24-hours after playing in the UEFA Youth League.
Ross Wilson has been a busy man of late, with several first team players needing new deals, the departure of Gerrard and hiring of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the next transfer window due to open and the next generation of Gers stars also needing to have their future’s protected.
King in particular is a player that we need to get tied down, previous to signing his first professional contract with us he was attracting interest from a host of big clubs, now, with him able to speak to clubs in just a matter of weeks, Manchester United and Newcastle United are said to be keeping an eye on his situation, according to a report in Football Insider.
The Athletic claimed in the summer that Rangers had begun discussions with King over a new deal, however, as yet, nothing concrete has been announced – given the future of the centre-half position at the club and the reputation of the new management team for developing and playing youngsters, if he wants first-team football he should put pen to paper and stay exactly where he is.