Glasgow Rangers youngster Serge Atakayi made his debut at Ibrox at the weekend.
Rangers first-team coach Michael Beale has taken to Twitter to congratulate Serge Atakayi after the youngster was handed his senior debut for the Gers in their 7-1 weekend win, and suggest that his first-team bow sends a very positive message out to the rest of the club’s starlets.
Atakayi was the beneficiary of Rangers going 6-1 up inside 70 minutes against Motherwell at Ibrox as Steven Gerrard brought him on with 17 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately, the 19-year-old did not manage to see the game out as a heavy challenge saw him taken off before the full-time whistle. But, while Beale admitted that he was disappointed due to how the winger’s afternoon ended, he insisted that he was delighted to see the teenager get his chance…
It is fantastic for Gerrard that he has another bright youngster at his disposal who appears to have the talent to make an impact in the Scottish Premiership in the coming years.
Glenn Middleton has taken little time to adapt to life in the Rangers first-team. And while Atakayi appears to be more of a work in progress, he arguably has the potential to follow Middleton into the first-team fold on a regular basis.
And with 11 games between now and the end of the year for the Gers, it would be no surprise if the Motherwell win does not prove to be Atakayi’s final appearance of the year – provided that his injury is not too serious.
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