RYDC’s Plan to Transform Rangers Academy
RYDC’s Plan to Transform Rangers Academy
Rangers get a hard time for not producing their own talent, despite the Scotland squad showing that Auchenhowie can develop good players and others, like Leon King, who thrive elsewhere.
Billy Gilmour, James McPake, Robbie Ure, and even Lewis Ferguson, out of the current international set-up, spent their formative years in Light Blue. However, only Findlay Curtis, Liam Kelly and Ross McCrorie are current players who have played in the navy shade of blue recently too, having come through the Rangers academy.
The advent of Brexit has meant an increase in English clubs keeping tabs on young Scottish players, and most of those named above attracted interest at one point or another.
Now a mainstay at Ayr United, King attracted more than most, but was it all just paper talk, or were Liverpool and other top Premier League sides really looking to sign the teenage prodigy?
When Leon King Was Rangers Star Prospect
What Giovanni van Bronckhorst Said About King
Steven Gerrard gave King his competitive Rangers debut as a fresh-faced 16-year-old against Falkirk in the League Cup, playing as a right-back, rather than his preferred position of centre-half.
Such was his potential that newspaper reports and online rumours claimed that several Premier League clubs were sniffing about, something that Giovanni van Bronckhorst denied in the 2022/23 season when King played more minutes in the Champions League than any other teenager: “You will see him tomorrow,” the Dutchman said on the eve of Rangers’ home game with Liverpool via BBC Sport.
“I haven’t heard from any interest down south. When you are performing well in Scotland, you will get interest. Leon is a player who is developing really well.
“He played some games last year, but we wanted to make space for him to get more minutes, and he is performing really well.
“I think his future is very bright, but he needs to continue playing well and training well, and we are helping him in that process.”
Was the Interest in King Genuine
Former Rangers Insider on Leon King Speculation
Speaking on the Heart and Hand podcast flagship show on Monday, November 2, former Rangers director of communications, David Graham revealed that several teams had enquired and attempted to lure King south of the border: “What I would say is, I mean, because if you recall, and I say this with great respect, because it’s so disappointing that he didn’t probably fulfill the potential that we had hoped, particularly on King four odd years ago, playing for us, starting for us.
“There were reports of him being, he was linked to the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Newcastle. They were genuine links.
“I know that for a fact because obviously he was involved in the club at the time, and I knew his agent or know his agent as it was at the time. So these things, there’s probably more truth in a lot of things than people realize, but also they can change so quickly.”
Graham was talking about speculation involving the current centre-half pairing of Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez and how easy it is to go from in-demand to an afterthought.
Read More: Why ‘Dangerous’ Star Is Worth Record £15.5 million Transfer Fee
The Last Word
King played 42 games for Rangers, mainly under Van Bronckhorst, and has now played 43 for Ayr United where he has become a first-team regular and has received praise for his consistency and quality on the ball.
There is no doubting that King is a talented footballer, but when he is compared to the current crop who play for Rangers, he lacks the sheer athleticism, pace, or physical dominance to reach the very highest levels.
That Rangers tried to move the 22-year-old into midfield for a season shows how highly he was thought of as a player, and there was certainly never any complaints about his desire or application.
Qualities that will see him thrive in the SPFL, which makes him another Rangers academy success.
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IMAGO / Sports Press