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View: Manchester City will be licking their lips as centre mid unlikely to play again for…

Manchester City, Sunderland and Aston Villa are among the clubs keeping tabs on Rangers midfielder Bailey Rice ahead of the summer transfer window.

Rice made Rangers history when he became the youngest post-war player to feature for the club in the league, aged 16 years and 137 days.

The central midfielder is now 19 and faces an uncertain future at Ibrox, with his contract running out at the end of the season.

Rangers v SV Hamburg - Pre-Season Friendly

Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Bailey Rice’s injury and contract status mean he may never play for Rangers again

In November, Rice picked up a “big” injury in training, according to Danny Rohl, for which he had to undergo surgery.

Even at that time, it seemed unlikely that the midfielder would be back in action before the end of the campaign.

Prior to that, he made just one appearance for the Ibrox outfit this term, featuring for 45 minutes in a 4-2 win over Alloa Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup.

Bailey Rice seen gesturing.

Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images

With his contract running out at the end of the season, the Gers tried to tie him down to a new deal, but their efforts have been futile.

The Daily Mail reported that both parties could not come to an agreement regarding the teenager signing an extension.

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This would likely see him leaving on a free transfer, with Manchester City, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Brighton, West Brom and Cardiff City being among the clubs linked.

Bailey Rice against Manchester United.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Will Manchester City or Sunderland make a move for Rice?

While Rice has made his Rangers senior debut, he is not at the level to play regularly for them.

However, he does have immense potential, as he has shown on numerous occasions, and this could see some of the Premier League sides willing to take a punt on him.

Both Manchester City and Aston Villa are known to take gambles on young players, even if they are unproven regularly at the senior level.

They then help them hone their skills in their academy systems before making them first-team ready or potentially saleable assets.

Sunderland, too, are looking to re-establish themselves as Premier League regulars and may look to follow that model by signing Rice, as he would only cost cross-border compensation.

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