Rangers fans need to rein in their expectations of Leon King after the highly-rated 16-year-old signed his first professional deal with the club.
Friday’s news that the young defender had put pen to paper and committed to the Gers was extremely well received by the supporters and rightly so.
After all, this is a player who reportedly attracted interest from some of the biggest teams in England, including Liverpool and Manchester City [Daily Record].
King is a Rangers fan though, and it was encouraging to see that the club were able to offer sufficient terms and also presumably some assurances in terms of a future role in the senior team.
However, after the announcement, there were calls from plenty of fans to see the teenager included in the squad to face Ross County in the Premiership on Sunday.
Some of the comments may have been tongue-in-cheek. A dig at the failings of the current crop.
There’s no doubt many were serious, though, and any thoughts to that end need to be nipped in the bud early on.
While Bears understandably want a homegrown talent to come in and shore things up at the back, King is simply nowhere near ready for first-team football.
He’s tall and well built for his age, but he’s only just turned 16. No matter how highly regarded the player, it’s extremely rare that anyone that age is considered for first-team football.
Yes, Steven Gerrard included King as 19th man for the Scottish Cup clash against Stranraer at Ibrox in January.
That was very much a symbolic move from the club, though, who at that stage, were still trying to convince the player to stay.
The facts of the matter are that there’s a big difference between outstanding potential and current ability. King doesn’t even start for the Development team yet.
The likes of Rhys Breen and Danny Finlayson (before his recent loan move to Orange County SC), much less heralded prospects, are older and above him in the pecking order.
When the young Gers played their UEFA Youth League clash against Atletico Madrid at Firhill last month, he was on the bench.
So, in sum, there’s a lot to be excited about with King, a powerfully built defender who is very comfortable in possession. The club have done extremely well to hold onto him.
However, he’s still some distance away from Steven Gerrard’s plans and is very much one for the future, rather than a current first-team asset.
