Malky Mackay has positive things to say about Rangers youngster Kai Kennedy

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The SFA man appears excited about the potential of a number of Rangers youngsters at Ibrox.

Rangers youngsters Kai Kennedy, Josh McPake and Dapo Mebude have all been name checked by SFA Performance Director Malky Mackay as stand outs on recent Scotland duty, The Scottish Sun report.

All three were in action as the country’s U19s side defeated Germany in European qualifiers, with McPake netting the only goal of the game.

The result ensured that Scotland progress into the Elite Round draw as one of the top seeds.

Kennedy was also in exceptional form against Andorra, creating both assists in a 2-0 win.

It’s that player who has Mackay excited most, noting his high hopes for the player moving forward.

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, he said: “I thought Kai got more and more confident the second half went on against Germany. As Billy [Stark] said, Kai Kennedy, Dapo [Mebude] and Josh McPake showed real belief.

“He did really well to buy the foul for his free-kick in the second half and the shot was very well executed, just hitting the post with the keeper maybe getting a wee touch on it.

“Technically, he is very good. He did very well for us over in Turkey last month with Billy’s under-18s team that beat Paraguay. We have high hopes for him and I’m sure Rangers have high hopes for him.”

Kennedy’s current Rangers status?

Still just 17, the left-sided winger has yet to make his senior debut for the club, but he is a regular for the reserve and development sides at Ibrox.

He’s been integral to the side progressing nicely through the Scottish Challenge Cup, also creating an assist against Young Boys in the UEFA Youth League.

Even though he’s yet to make a first-team impact, hype continues to gather about his ability. The Daily Record reported during the summer transfer window that Italian giants Roma were keen on landing him.

That came on the heels of the youngster being named player of the tournament at the Alkass Cup in February.

Performing well for club and country, his next big goal will be making a push towards competitive senior action either on loan, like McPake, or even in Steven Gerrard’s side.

The Ibrox boss has already shown since arriving that he isn’t afraid to play young players if he feels they are good enough.