Five Rangers developed players are in the current Scotland squad and yet the Auchenhowie academy is still a source of heated debate.
Finding a Barry Ferguson or Allan McGregor isn’t easy, there is a reason why they are legends of the clubs, highly decorated and generational players – they don’t come along very often.
What the Rangers academy has to do is supplement the first-team and create revenue and, judging by the latest Scotland squad, it is on the right tracks.
With viral star Ross McCrorie joining Billy Gilmour, Nathan Patterson, Liam Kelly and current Rangers star Leon King in Steve Clarke’s squad, that is a decent percentage to have passed through Auchenhowie.
When you look at their recent transfer fees too, it adds even more weight to the claim that the academy is doing just fine.
Scotland call-ups and transfer fees prove Rangers are hitting academy mark
McCrorie has just moved to Bristol City for £3m, Glmour cost Brighton £9m and Patterson could eventually see Rangers earn £15m – £27m in total.
King might not quite have made the same emphatic breakthrough as his former B team colleague but he is Rangers prized teenage possession.
Premier League clubs would have to pay something similar if they followed up their interest.
As for Kelly, he has had a solid career in the SPFL and Motherwell would look for good money for their captain and number one.
Add these names to two youngsters ripping up the Premier League 2 and age group leagues and there is hard evidence of the Rangers academy producing outstanding talent.
Dire Mebude and Rory Wilson would have seen first-team action for Rangers this season, the former is a better player than Aaron Lyall and Zak Lovelace whilst the latter is more refined than Robbie Ure, all off whom were seen this campaign.
This season has seen Adam Devine, Alex Lowry and King all become genuine first-team players with multiple B team promotions too.
Developing players is never linear or black and white but, of the ones we keep a hold of, getting minutes in the first team or maximum income remains key.
It’s not there yet, but Auchenhowie could soon be about to provide what it was ultimately set up to achieve.
