Former Rangers striker, Zak Rudden, who has an Ibrox buy-back clause in his contract, scored his first goal for Partick Thistle in a 3-0 Scottish Cup Second Round win over Cowdenbeath on Tuesday.
Following loan spells at Falkirk and Plymouth Argyle, Scotland youth international Rudden joined the Jags in January 2020 for a nominal fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal [Ptfc.co.uk].
However, Rangers retain a degree of control over his future, after inserting a buy-back clause which can be triggered 18 months into his time at Firhill i.e this summer.
Given that he had excelled in the Championship with Falkirk, it was expected that Rudden would provide regular goals for the Jags.
Things haven’t worked out that way so far, with the pandemic and a host of injuries getting in the way.
However, he finally broke his duck on Tuesday night, scoring Thistle’s second in a comfortable 3-0 Scottish Cup triumph over the Blue Brazil.
It wasn’t the most spectacular of goals, with Rudden bundling the ball over the line following a fizzed cross from Joe Cardle, but it’s a start and he was visibly delighted to get off the mark.
At this point, it looks extremely unlikely that Rangers will exercise their recall option on Rudden at the end of the season.
The Academy staff at Auchenhowie will no doubt be pleased to see him back in the goals, though, and if he can put a run together over the coming weeks, Thistle may be able to push for promotion from League One.
Meanwhile, an SPFL boss has explained why a Rangers loanee was sent back to Ibrox just over two weeks into his loan spell.
