Rangers have a strong youth academy setup, according to Ibrox chief Dave King.
Rangers chairman Dave King
Rangers chairman Dave King has told the club’s official website that the club’s youth setup is the best it has been in almost 20 years.
The Gers once brought through the likes of Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton, Charlie Adam, Chris Burke, Ross McCormack and John Fleck, but the club’s administration in 2012 means that they have had to rebuild the club’s academy.
Mark Warburton helped oversee that during his time as manager, and new boss Pedro Caixinha will now be called up on to bed in young talents such as Jamie Barjonas and Liam Burt in the coming months and years.
Caixinha has already blooded two youngsters – David Bates and Myles Beerman – who were brought in from Raith Rovers and Manchester City respectively, but the focus must be on Rangers producing their own talent.
The most prominent recent case is that of Billy Gilmour, the 15-year-old midfielder who has been a regular for club and country at youth level.
Gilmour has been on the verge of making the first-team squad on a number of occasions this season, but the could actually be leaving the club in the near future, given that Chelsea are set to land him in a £500,000 deal according to the Daily Mail.
General View of Ibrox Stadium
Now, Rangers chairman Dave King has told the club’s official website that the Rangers youth setup is now the best it has been in almost 20 years, praising the Auchenhowie structure for finally being ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘vibrant’.
“Much has been achieved in the past year and the Club structures are significantly better than a year ago,” said King. “Our academy structures and young players are more promising than at any time since my first association with the Club almost 20 years ago. Auchenhowie is finally looking “fit for purpose” and is showing a vibrancy hitherto unseen,” he added.
Those comments from King will give Rangers fans hope that, even if Gilmour does move on to Chelsea, then there are more young stars coming through the ranks who can become first-team players and give the Gers a bright future.
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