Alan Hutton reckons that Leon King needs to be given game time at Rangers along with first-choice centre-halves so that he can fulfill his obvious potential.
When Leon King broke into Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers team earlier this season it was as much through necessity than desire as the treatment room saw bodies pile up.
Injuries to Filip Helander, John Souttar, and Ben Davies saw the talented teenager thrown in at deep end only for matters to be made worse when Connor Goldson also broke down.
What has Alan Hutton said about Leon King’s chances?
Speaking to Football Insider, the Rangers TV pundit has backed King to come good when asked about the 19-year old’s lack of recent playing time, but on one condition:
“It is a shame because he is a very good football player.
“When you are a young boy coming into a team like Leon King at Rangers, I think you have to play alongside experienced center-backs. So if he was playing next to Goldson or Davies I think you see a better Leon King.
“But when he is put in next to a midfielder in James Sands, how do you expect him to flourish? I felt sorry for him at that stage.
“Hopefully it makes him a stronger person and he understands what it takes and can move forward.”
Hutton is right, King has enormous potential but having to play as the only recognised specialist defender was always going to see him struggl.
He did as good a job as could be expected, and having time out of the firing line will have helped.
The Scotland Under-21 international was having to contend with the hammer throwers of the SPFL and likes of Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah in the Champions League.
At his age, most defenders are playing against kids their age – not 14-stone units or world-class footballers.
King, like Nathan Patterson, will come good, he just needs to be playing games guided by experienced teammates rather than having to organise a defence on his own and be given the freedom to concentrate on his own game.
