Glenn Middleton may need to consider Rangers loan exit next season

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Glenn Middleton enjoyed a fantastic first year in the Glasgow Rangers first-team, but now has a lot more competition at Ibrox.

One of the more surprising decisions Steven Gerrard made during the second-half of his first season as Rangers boss was to use Glenn Middleton so sparingly after a very impressive start to life in the first-team.

The winger may still be some way short of being the finished article. But there were undeniably moments where the 19-year-old showed exactly why there is so much excitement regarding his potential – perhaps most notably, during the first-half of their dramatic Europa League defeat to Spartak Moscow in November.

So it was interesting that Middleton did not start a single game after the turn of the year – having played 25 times before the winter break – especially as he was exceptional for the reserves on a regular basis.

The future is still looking incredibly bright for Middleton. But given the business that Gerrard has already done ahead of this summer, perhaps the teenager needs to start weighing up whether he needs to ask for a loan move next year.

Rangers have already added Jordan Jones and Jake Hastie to their ranks, while the Daily Star recently claimed that Sheyi Ojo could soon be on his way on loan and Gerrard is still hoping to bring Ryan Kent back for a second spell.

While Hastie is in a similar boat given his age and lack of senior experience, it does appear that Middleton is going to face an even tougher task trying to get into the team next term than he did this year given the amount of competition for a place out wide.

And given that the former Norwich City trainee can hardly do anymore to catch the eye when he features for Graeme Murty’s side, heading out on loan could be in his best interests unless he receives assurances from the manager.

Greg Docherty is returning to Ibrox this summer having done a brilliant job of making the most of his time away. His spell with Shrewsbury could go down as a real turning point in his Gers future – and the same could probably be said of Jordan Rossiter, who joined Bury in January.

Middleton does not need a turning point. But there is every chance that a successful loan could prove to be the catalyst that leads to the wide-man becoming a first-team regular at Ibrox.