Vital Rangers reported a few days ago that there are five players who will be expected to leave this summer due to their status in the squad and how limited their options will be under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
One of these players is Stephen Kelly and, despite being impressive last summer, has never really had the same opportunity to stake a regular claim in the first-team squad that even the likes of Glenn Middleton, Alex Lowry and Leon King have had.
With just one year left on his current Rangers contract, Kelly will face a fight to earn a new deal. If his situation was difficult last year, with the additions of John Lundstram and James Sands in his position and the emergence of Charlie McCann, it is now even harder when once he was considered the natural successor to Steven Davis.
James Tavernier described him as a “baller” and, as seen by what will be his last goal for Scotland Under-21s, it’s clear that there is no reason why he can’t forge a decent career for himself at a good club, even if that means taking a step down from Rangers.
🚀 Perfect from @stephenkelly_50! https://t.co/uH9IMCKWiw
— Rangers B & Academy (@RFC_Youth) June 11, 2022
You will struggle to see a better free-kick.
Pace, swerve, dip and off the underside of the crossbar right in the top corner – perfection – with a technique that seemed to be a hybrid between David Beckham and Ronaldo, it was a ridiculous strike, but one that we have seen before from the 22-year old on his various loan spells – he has, as they say, have it in his locker.
Again, it’s just another example of how good, technically, Kelly is as a footballer and any team will be better off with him in their squad, as Davis said “he’s got a big career ahead of him” and few would argue if he produces more moments of magic like this, even if it isn’t at Ibrox