Rangers know that they are up against it to convince the best young Scottish players to remain at Ibrox when there is the lure of the Premier League.
TV money has transformed English football’s infrastructure with some of the globe’s top academies now down south and Rangers struggling to compete financially.
What the Gers can promise is quicker opportunities with the Rangers first team, but that’s something which hasn’t always played out consistently in the Rangers academy.
Highly-rated Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour left for Chelsea in 2017 and since then clubs north of the border have struggled to keep hold of their best young talent.
Now one former Rangers striker talent is being tipped to score a barrel-load in the English Premier League.
Rory Wilson signs new Aston Villa contract
Aston Villa have announced a new deal for highly-rated former Rangers academy striker Rory Wilson.
Wilson, 19, is yet to make his first-team debut for the Villains but is highly-rated by the Premier League club’s academy staff and has impressed in their youth teams.
The new deal comes three years after Wilson decided to move to Aston Villa despite Rangers being desperate to tie the young Scottish striker down.
Wilson had just banged in 49 goals for the Rangers youth time prior to signing his first professional contract in Birmingham.
After weeks of speculation, Wilson has now put pen to paper on a new deal at Villa Park which will tie the striker to the club until 2027, with the option of another year.
This comes after Wilson impressed in the U18s Premier League last season, scoring 16 goals in 13 games.
The contract also brings an end to speculation linking Wilson with the likes of Bayern Leverkusen and a number of Premier League clubs.
Aston Villa tip Rory Wilson for Premier League greatness
Rangers banked £300k after Wilson joined Villa as part of a development fee for their role in earning the striker the move to Villa Park.
But that could soon be dwarfed by the figure Wilson is actually worth amid claims from inside Villa Park that the Scottish teenager has what it takes to reach the top of the game.
According to academy manager Mark Harrison, Villa are backing Wilson to transition his excellent goalscoring record at youth level to the men’s game.
”We are delighted to have agreed a new contract with Rory,” Harrison told the Aston Villa website.
“He has obviously got a proven track record of scoring goals at Academy level and we firmly believe that this will continue at senior level.
“Rory has always been very committed to his development and has shown that consistently throughout his time with us. He has undoubted potential, so we look forward to supporting him into transitioning into a first team player at Aston Villa FC.”
