Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers appear to have signed the teenage prodigy.
There was no announcement, but it looks like Rangers have signed Umaro Balde.
The Glasgow Evening Times claimed toward the end of May that the 16-year-old midfielder would be moving to Auchenhowie this summer.
But with no acknowledgement of a transfer, it wasn’t known whether Rangers had completed the deal for Balde, whose contract at Sporting Lisbon expired last month.
Despite the lack of announcement, it appears as if the Gers did sign him.
Balde was named in the light Blues’ Under-18 side yesterday as they thrashed Partick Thistle 6-1 in a pre-season friendly.
Balde, who turns 17 in October, is a defensive midfielder and a big first season with the Under-18s could set him up nicely to perhaps make a first-team impression next summer.
He will still only be 17 by then, but Steven Gerrard, the Rangers manager, brought a number of teenagers on the Gers’ pre-season training camp this summer.
Gerrard believes that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, and time will tell whether Balde is good enough.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
