Rangers loanee Danny Finlayson is still yet to feature under Jim Goodwin, months after joining St Mirren.
The 20-year-old defender, who can play either centre-back or right-back, joined the Buddies on the final day of the summer transfer window in early October 2020 [Rangers.co.uk].
Finlayson’s switch came immediately after a productive stint in the USL Championship with club partner Orange County SC.
The decision to send a young defender out on another loan was expected, but the fact that the deal is set to become permanent in the summer came as a surprise.
The Northern Ireland youth international captained Rangers to a Scottish FA Youth Cup win in 2019, was an ever-present in the Gers U20s’ UEFA Youth League campaign last season and starred for the Colts as they reached the Challenge Cup semi-final.
Yet, with a number of senior centre-backs already at the club and the likes of Lewis Mayo and Rhys Breen also coming through the ranks, Rangers clearly felt it was time to cash in.
St Mirren have committed to paying an undisclosed fee to sign Finlayson in the summer [Rangers.co.uk], but there’s a chance they could do so before he even makes an appearance for the club.
The 6ft 3″ prospect has been unable to break into a thriving Buddies team, with the likes of Joe Shaughnessy, Conor McCarthy and Marcus Fraser the players in front of him in the pecking order.
He’s been named on the bench for eight Premiership matches, including their 2-1 victory at Celtic on Saturday, and three League Cup ties, but is yet to play a single minute.
It’s no doubt frustrating for a promising player who managed to establish himself as a regular in the States with Orange County.
The terms of his move from Rangers ensure that he has a future at St Mirren beyond this season, but he’ll want to start playing sooner rather than later, with his current situation far from ideal.
A fellow Gers loanee has gone straight into the starting XI for a Championship club following his January move and received big praise from his new manager at the weekend after scoring a stunning goal.
