Rangers will always, or should, look to sign the best young talent from around Scotland, but it would appear as though one former Light Blues hopeful has got away.
Auchenhowie hasn’t quite become the breeding ground for a conveyor belt of players to supplement the senior squad just yet, however, Nils Koppen does have plans for the academy, as part of his new role as technical director.
One former Rangers B team hopeful is proving that there is no set path to first team football with Connor Young reaping the benefits of regular game time.
Connor Young proving that there is life after Rangers
The 20-year old striker hit his 13th league goal of the season at the weekend, earning the praise of his manager in the process, Michael McIndoe said, via the Edinburgh Evening News, of the display against Clyde:
“It was a really professional performance – aggressive, good flowing football at the right times creating three or four one v ones and yet again Connor Young comes up with the goods as usual.”
Young was signed from Hibernian in the summer of 2022 only to be released just a year later and, coincidentally, snapped up by Clyde.
He might not have the luxurious surroundings of the Rangers training centre, however, he is playing regularly and putting his name on the map as the top goalscorer in League Two.
Young would have been gutted to see his return to the RTC postponed due to the weather.
What is Nils Koppen doing about the Rangers academy?
Sometimes, there is no replacement for just going out and learning the craft playing competitively, something that former B team colleagues like Alex Lowry, Leon King and Robbie Fraser aren’t doing.
Koppen spoke at length about the issues with the academy and named it as one of his three priorities as Rangers technical director.
A structured plan to increase the number of talented young players that make an impact in the first team must be a key aim.
It is a shame that Young isn’t still at Rangers because he is doing enough at Edinburgh City to suggest that he knows where the goal is and it’s been 40 years since an academy striker progressed through the ranks to do that in front of a packed Ibrox.
