Rangers are fighting to return to the top of the Scottish game and Mark Warburton’s youngsters will be at the forefront of their revolution.
If Mark Warburton wants to build a legacy at Rangers, embracing the club’s youth system is a good place to start. And, so far, the signs are very good. As reported by the Daily Record, The Gers boss personally attended Sunday’s SFA Youth Cup tie with Falkirk, keeping his keen eye on the club’s next generation.
The former city trader perhaps unsurprisingly gained a reputation for identifying and developing young talent before selling it on for a huge profit at Brentford, with the likes of Andre Gray and James Tarkowski now established Premier League players. And the harsh financial demands north of the border means Rangers need to sell to survive.
However, profits are not the only reason why Warburton wants to give the club’s youth a chance. If Rangers are to bridge the gap to Celtic, establishing a core of passionate, improving starlets would be a good place to start.
And Warburton, who has already given the likes of Barrie McKay (below) and Jason Burt an opportunity to stake their claim in the Rangers first-team, says he is excited about the talent bubbling beneath the surface – with one player in particular making quite the name for himself.
“There’s some real talents coming through like Billy Gilmour. The challenge for them is to make sure they make that transition,” Warburton said in quotes reported by the Daily Record.
There’s little doubt the 54-year-old will help ease that adaption from youth team to the professional game but his first task could be to convince Gilmour that Rangers is the best environment for him to fulfil his vast potential.
The Daily Record reports that Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are all tracking the 15-year-old’s progress but, as Warburton has reiterated, patience will pay off at Ibrox.
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