Glasgow Rangers forward Dapo Mebude is one of the brightest prospects at Ibrox, so could his first-team debut be imminent?
Rangers travel to Moscow today ahead of Thursday’s tie knowing that a victory this week will see Steven Gerrard’s men take a giant step towards the knockout stages of the Europa League.
The Gers currently top their group and could put themselves on the brink of qualifying with a win against Spartak Moscow. It is a crucial game, but could Gerrard be considering handing one Rangers youngster his first-team debut?
The club have posted a number of photos of the squad arriving at the airport ahead of their flight to Russia, and amongst those pictured in the ranks is forward Dapo Mebude.
Mebude is undoubtedly one of the brightest talents currently coming through at Ibrox. But it is still a surprise that Gerrard has seemingly included the 17-year-old in the squad – that also includes another youngster in Robby McCrorie – that is heading to the Otkritie Arena.
He is, of course, incredibly unlikely to start the game. Alfredo Morelos has to be considered one of the obvious names on the teamsheet given his form this term. But perhaps there is a chance that Mebude may find himself on the bench – though it must be mentioned that the development side are also in action in Moscow
Umar Sadiq is not amongst the images that the club have posted. That does not necessarily mean that he is not involved, but given his League Cup semi-final display and his subsequent absence from the side, it may not be out of the question to suggest that Gerrard would rather hand Mebude a chance over Sadiq.
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