Could Zak Rudden push Ryan Hardie closer to Rangers exit?

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Glasgow Rangers striker Ryan Hardie is out of contract at Ibrox at the end of the season.

When Ryan Hardie left Rangers for Livingston on loan during the January transfer window, he would have known that he was facing a crucial few months for his Ibrox career.

According to transfermarkt, Hardie’s deal with the Gers expires at the end of the season, and having never quite managed to break into the first-team for a prolonged period, it appeared that there was every chance that he may be allowed to leave if he did not make the most of his loan spell.

In fairness to the 20-year-old, he is definitely doing his bit. Hardie has scored five goals in six matches for David Hopkin’s men, including a stoppage-time winner in the recent win over Dundee United.

But perhaps Hardie’s future may be taken out of his hands if Zak Rudden’s latest performance for the Gers’ development side is a sign of things to come from the 18-year-old.

Rudden inspired the under-20s to a hugely impressive win over AEK Athens on Tuesday as he scored a hat-trick in the 4-1 win to certainly show to the first-team coaches that he is a player to keep an eye on in the future.

If Rudden backs that display up with several impressive performances until the end of the campaign and bags plenty of goals along the way, the Rangers hierarchy may perhaps have questions about whether they should give Hardie a new deal if they feel that his teammate has leapt above him in the pecking order – especially as Graeme Murty is currently struggling to get Jason Cummings in the team and Eduardo Herrera has not had a look in for a while.

Hardie is still young and certainly hasn’t disgraced himself when given a chance in the Rangers first-team, but perhaps the club may wonder whether it is worth keeping him on also if Rudden continues to impress.

If Hardie can maintain his current strike-rate, it would be a huge shock if Rangers did not look to extend his deal. But if his form dips, perhaps the door may be open for the likes of Rudden to push themselves up the pecking order, and in turn, possibly push their teammate closer to the exit.