Rangers have been given permission to speak with young Man City defender Marley Leuluai with the centre-back set for a week-long Ibrox trial.
At least that’s according to Football Insider, who claim that the New Zealand kid, 16, will head north as Rangers look to run the rule over him this week.
Marley Leuluai has risen through the ranks of the Man City youth academy but as he turns professional it would appear that the player’s immediate future lies elsewhere.
According to the report, the player is yet to be handed a prestigious two-year Man City scholarship and this means that the defender may have to look elsewhere ahead of the summer.
Rangers set for Marley Leuluai trial
Rangers will hope to pip any rivals to the signature of Marley Leuluai thanks to different rules when it comes to player contracts.
Youngsters can sign their first professional deals at 16-years-old north of the border whilst down south they can’t become professional until 17.
Rangers have also shown the English cross-border contract market to be a valuable one in recent seasons, with Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo banking a healthy a profit and Zak Lovelace tearing up the reserves.
Marley Leuluai could be the next England-based player to be convinced to make the switch to Rangers, with the Ibrox side having a track record of working these players into their first team in recent seasons.
The player also comes from a sporting family, with Leuluai the son of famous New Zealand rugby player Kylie Leuluai, who won a host of trophies with the Leeds Rhinos.
The links also come after Rangers lost one of their top talents moving in the other direction, as Dire Mebude moved to Man City after coming through at Ibrox.
Speaking recently, Mebude claims he remains a Rangers fan and let’s see if the Ibrox side can restore some balance by completing a deal for Man City kid Marley Leuluai.
