Zak Lovelace scoring goals in a Rangers shirt. That was the situation on Sunday when the 16-year old bagged a brace in the closed doors game against Queen’s Park at Auchenhowie but there is serious potential for the young player to score for real at Ibrox in the coming months and years.
No undue pressure will be put on Lovelace within Ibrox, despite his very encouraging start. He is still a teenager, making his way at a massive club, in a new city away from his home. However, it cannot be argued that the striker looks the part. Pace, power, technique, finishing – this emerging Rangers striker has the lot.
It was those qualities that saw an early emergence and exposure at The Den, where he played English Championship football last season.
The former Millwall lad is not going to be leading the line for Gio van Bronckhorst’s first team anytime soon, he’s simply not ready for that but if his season blossoms as well as it has started, he may well get an introduction to the senior squad in training with the possibility of a few appearances on the bench in due course, in a similar way that the likes of Alex Lowry, Leon King and Charlie McCann have been introduced.
Against Queen’s Park on Sunday, Lovelace was trusted enough to be involved and he certainly made the most of the opportunity. The last preparation ahead of the competitive season was used to give game time to others in the top team who weren’t involved much on Saturday against Spurs as well as the best B team players who are knocking on the door – Zak Lovelace is in that position already.
See below for his very well taken second goal against the Spiders.
https://twitter.com/PenaCartel/status/1551489460017270784
Exciting
Prior to the start of the B team season last Friday night, the Rangers second string head coach David McCallum spoke on the massive potential of Lovelace:
“I think when everybody first seen him in the Glentoran game, you only seen a 25-30 minute window and I think it was exciting to see that the kid has got talent. He handles the ball well. He’s certainly got an eye for in and around the penalty box and wants to get involved in finishing situations.”
“The way we play might be a little bit different from Millwall. I think he’s probably used to exposing the spaces behind opposition lines quite quickly whereas we might be a little bit more patient in the build-up.”
Patience, time, and development are all important aspects, but even at this stage of Zak Lovelace’s fledgling Rangers career it is difficult not to be very enthusiastic about the prospects of this seriously talented young player.