Rangers fans have been given a much need boost with the news that Leon King is expected to sign his first professional contract with the club ahead of serious interest from south of the border and a series of Premier League big guns according to a report in Football Insider.
King turned 16 in January and was rewarded with his form at youth level with a place in the match day squad against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup, in England, clubs have to wait until a player is 17 before they can be offered professional terms but in Scotland it is a year younger which is the cause for the heightened attention in the Scotland under-17 captain.
The centre-half has had the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Wolves, Liverpool, Chelsea and RB Leipzig monitoring his situation according to The Daily Record as he continues to demonstrate similar qualities to those shown by Billy Gilmour who left Ibrox for Chelsea in 2017.
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Gilmour is now seen as a member of Chelsea’s first-team despite only being 18 and regularly features in Frank Lampard’s squads such has been his development over the last few years with 5 first-team appearances to his name already.
Rangers will want to avoid a similar situation which saw their most talented youngster leave before he had even made a first-team appearance and Steven Gerrard himself is said to have intervened in a bid to persuade King that his future lies with the famous Light Blues.
The Old Firm are now seen as feeder clubs for the Premier League and if they have players that excel at any level they can offer considerably higher wages to tempt them away, even for someone that may never make an appearance for the first-team, such is the vast difference in resources.