ANDY HALLIDAY IS OF THE OPINION RANGERS HAVE A ‘BRILLIANT’ TEENAGER EMERGING AT IBROX.
Rangers talent Leon King has been hailed by former Ibrox ace Andy Halliday after a fine performance against St Mirren on Sunday afternoon.
The Gers desperately needed a big result at St Mirren having lost to Celtic and Braga in the previous seven days.
Kemar Roofe’s hat-trick and a beauty from Joe Aribo handed Rangers a 4-0 victory, easing the pressure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Rangers must now hope to take that form into their second leg against Braga on Thursday.
One man who won’t be involved on Saturday is Filip Helander with the defender now set to miss the rest of the season through injury.
Helander was taken off against St Mirren with teenager King coming on in his place for a valuable 45 minutes of first-team action.
The Gers desperately needed a big result at St Mirren having lost to Celtic and Braga in the previous seven days.
Kemar Roofe’s hat-trick and a beauty from Joe Aribo handed Rangers a 4-0 victory, easing the pressure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Rangers must now hope to take that form into their second leg against Braga on Thursday.
One man who won’t be involved on Saturday is Filip Helander with the defender now set to miss the rest of the season through injury.
Helander was taken off against St Mirren with teenager King coming on in his place for a valuable 45 minutes of first-team action.
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King only turned 18 in January but has long been tipped for a huge future at Ibrox.
Rangers fortunately have King tied down until 2024, which will fend off Aston Villa.
Steven Gerrard was understood to be interested in signing King for Villa having brought him into the Rangers setup.
King made his Rangers debut in 2020 and then his league debut towards the end of last season, but this was his biggest exposure to senior football.
Rangers kept a clean sheet in their victory with King faring well alongside Connor Goldson in the Gers’ back line.
It’s still likely that Leon Balogun will be replacing Helander, especially for a big game like the one against Braga on Thursday.
Yet if Van Bronckhorst can give King some more minutes before the end of the season, that could be vital for his development.
Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has now offered his view on King, telling Open Goal that he thinks the teenager was ‘brilliant’ against St Mirren.
Halliday claims he has been saying for a long time that King will be a first-team player at Rangers, praising his maturity and intelligence.
“He was brilliant [against St Mirren]. I told you when I left Rangers when you asked who I thought the next player was,” said Halliday. “Nathan Patterson was one, I always felt Leon would be the one to step up. He has a 30-year-old’s brain which I think is massive for younger kids.”
“He is just so mature in the way he plays, he’s not scared to get on the ball. He’s not the biggest but he’s very, very intelligent. If he keeps maintaining the progress he’s made then I think he’ll have a future at Rangers,” he added.
