Rangers find themselves with an excellent group of academy players coming through the ranks at Ibrox at the minute, with Alex Lowry and Charlie McCann really showing their promise.

One of the most talked-about youth prospects is centre-back Leon King, who at just 18 years old, has featured on the Premiership sides bench a few times already this season and could be ready for a step-up next season.

King signed a new long-term deal in January which will take him up to May 2024, with Ross Wilson explaining that he was “delighted” the young defender will continue his journey at Rangers.

The move to offer him a new deal was a smart one, as his performances in the B team haven’t gone unnoticed, he was linked with a move to both Manchester United and Newcastle United before pledging his future to the Gers.

Steven Gerrard was the first to offer hints that King could be a key part of the Ibrox side's future when the then 16-year-old was included in the first-team squad for their trip to Belgium to face Standard Liege in the Europa League in October 2020.

Since then, he went on to make his official debut against Falkirk in a League Cup tie before featuring for the Gers in league duty against Livingston in May 2021, long after the side had won the Premiership title.

This led Giovanni van Bronckhorst to promote him to the first-team squad in January and this experience will surely stand him in good stead.

The player has all the attributes to become the side's next Richard Gough, a stalwart at the heart of defence who eventually went on to make over 300 appearances in Rangers blue. With former coach Gerrard labelling him as “superb” then the sky really is the limit for the talented defender.

Van Bronckhorst could save millions by utilising him in the next few seasons in what is an exciting time for the youngster.

AND in other news, Body blow: Van Bronckhorst now set for huge Rangers disaster over £27k-p/w “rock”…