Scottish Premiership giants Rangers are reportedly keen to sign Brandan Barker from Premier League champions Manchester City.
Unfortunately for Brandon Barker, the chances of him making the grade at Manchester City look slim.
With Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and co all fighting for place in Pep Guardiola’s star-studded team, it seems that there is no immediate place for a 21-year-old talent who was tipped to be the posterboy of City’s £200million academy campus.
Barker shone for the Premier League champions at youth level but has been rewarded with just one first-team appearance so far. And, after loan spells at Rotherham, NAC Breda and Hibernian, the England U20 winger could be on the move again, with the Scottish Sun stating that Rangers are interested for the second summer in a row.
Rangers fans should be very excited about this potential signing and not just because Barker shone at league rivals Hibs last season. In the eyes of former City academy coach Patrick Vieira, Barker is a player who could go far.
“Brandon is a proper talent,” the former Arsenal skipper told the Manchester Evening News in 2015. “He needs to work hard, he needs to work well but I believe that Brandon has the potential to be a really good player and only he can decide the levels.
“It is up to him how much he wants it because he has got the talent. If he works well and develops himself and is really ambitious, he has fantastic potential to be a Premier League player.”
Barker was City’s Academy Player’s Player of the Year at the time, having netted 13 goals in 32 games for the U18s and taking the UEFA Youth League by storm with some thrilling displays.
But is Rangers the place for Barker to show his considerable talents in the senior game?
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