Vital Rangers has already spoken – at length – about the future of the centre-half department next season and beyond with uncertainty over at least four of the currently registered players.
What we also have to consider is that Leon King has announced himself as a genuine first-team player and Lewis Mayo, who still has a season left on his contract, has just finished as one of the best players in the Championship, they might not be ready to start, but they could certainly be trusted to provide back-up.
Unfortunately, not every academy player will make it through and one of these would appear to be Kyle McClelland, the 20-year old Northern Ireland youth cap who is King’s regular partner for the B team. A report in the Daily Express claiming that both Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town are monitoring his situation, the player himself announcing that he is leaving the club.
McClelland is out of contract in the summer so but hasn’t been offered a new deal, he won’t be the first promising player who we just haven’t been able to find room for as they approach an age that they should be playing senior football regularly.
There would be no point in extending his contract and then sending him out on loan, sometimes there is a responsibility to do the right thing by the player and not act selfishly, if a decision has been made then it is up to the club to help him find a new one that is most suitable for him to progress at.
We need only look at the likes of John Fleck who took a step back before finding himself playing in the Premier League and for Scotland, there is life after Rangers if you want it badly enough and choose the right path.