Dapo Mebude’s Rangers future is looking extremely bright after another session with the first-team.
Rangers’ official Instagram account were doing their regular pre-match gallery of training shots. Eagle-eyed supporters, however, would’ve quickly noticed that Mebude was once again part of proceedings ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash with Villarreal.
This comes just weeks after he was selected to travel with the squad to Russia to face Spartak Moscow. All of a sudden the 17-year-old has been thrust into the Rangers spotlight and being given valuable experience.
Does this mean, therefore, that he’s Steven Gerrard’s main target for first-team progression this season?
Mebude has recently put on a terrific series of performances for Scotland under-19s. He helped his country qualify for the Euro 2019 Elite Round with a trio of fine performances against Wales, San Marino, and Sweden.
Impressing domestically and internationally
He’s also consistently impressing for the under-20s at the Hummel Training Centre too. He most recently fired home a double against Partick Thistle in a 6-1 rout in the City of Glasgow Cup first round.
His progress this season has been fantastic, and Gerrard is clearly finding it hard to ignore him. Determined to give him opportunities with the first-team squad in Europe, you have to imagine it won’t be long before he’s actually featuring at Ibrox.
Of course, there are plenty of others threatening a breakthrough also. Serge Atakayi had his big chance against Motherwell, but picked up an unfortunate injury after making a late cameo.
Others such as Jordan Houston, Stephen Kelly, and Andrew Dallas are all also on the fringes of first-team call-ups. Graeme Murty has been working wonders since coming back to the club to take control of the youths once more.
Despite that, however, it appears like Mebude is high on Gerrard’s list for breakthrough candidates. He’s yet to actually make a senior appearance, but at this rate it surely won’t be long before he does.
