Jake Hastie’s inclusion in the Rangers B team for a pre-season friendly against Edinburgh City on Saturday afternoon doesn’t bode well for his hopes of making it at Ibrox.
The 22-year-old signed for the Gers on a four-year deal from Motherwell in the summer of 2019.
The move came after a series of strong late-season performances for ‘Well but he hasn’t been able to make an impact for the Light Blues.
Two years after arriving at Ibrox, Hastie only has two first-team appearances to his name and didn’t set the world alight during loan spells at Rotherham or Motherwell.
He’s now back at Rangers and looking to impress but so are a number of other wingers including Jordan Jones, Brandon Barker and Glenn Middleton, and Saturday’s B team selection gave an indication as to where he currently ranks.
Of those named in the B team starting XI, Hastie was the only one who could be considered a first-team player, with the team mainly made up of members of the 2020/21 U18 CAS League-winning side.
Had the Scotland youth cap spent the game beating defenders, bagging a few goals and generally looking too good for the level, he might have swiftly returned to the first-team fold.
However, despite going close with a deflected effort early on, he didn’t manage to find the net and the B team lost 1-0 to their League Two opponents.
Therefore, it would be a surprise if he was deemed to have done enough to make the senior matchday squad for Monday’s trip to Partick Thistle, and, more generally, he looks to have a mountain to climb to make it at Ibrox.
While Hastie is struggling at club level, one Rangers star is repeatedly being snubbed at international level.
