One of the reasons why Philippe Clement was given the Rangers job was because he has a track record of promoting and developing young players.
The manager had given several Auchenhowie hopefuls a chance in the senior squad but only Ross McCausland has really been trusted to play a significant amount of minutes.
One of the jewels of the academy is Bailey Rice with the Rangers boss providing an exciting update on the midfield playmaker.
Bailey Rice officially promoted to Rangers first team
Despite only being seen sporadically in the first team, fans of the Ibrox outfit could soon be about to see a lot more of the Scotland youth international:
“Bailey will be basically in the dressing room now after the game against Dundee,” Clement said of Rice making the permanent step up.
“That is the plan, [one of] the things discussed this week also about the squad and which people make the next step in their evolution at the club.”
“Bailey’s taking the next step in his project with this club.”
One of the factors in Rice’s favour is that, alongside Nicolas Raskin, there are no other natural defensive midfielders who can dictate play in the same way.
Connor Barron plays the same position, but isn’t anywhere near as effective on his own and is more comfortable in a double pivot, rather than having to shoulder the creative burden on his own.
With Raskin suspended, Rice could be in line to make a much anticipated appearance in his preferred position.
Why didn’t Clement rate Rice when he first arrived at Rangers?
When Clement first took over, Rice had just made his debut under Michael Beale and the talented teen has clearly worked on the weaknesses detailed by the gaffer:
“I don’t like to speak too much about individuals but OK I will speak about Bailey (Rice) because he knows,” the Belgian revealed after being asked why Rice was no longer in the first team.
“He’s for me a really talented player and I think he has a great future in this club but there are also some points we need to work on which are different academy football and the first team, for sure without ball.
“So that’s a really important step to make and he’s going to make that step. If he makes that step then he’s going to be pushing for positions in the first team.”
Hopefully, as shown with the patience afforded to Hamza Igamane, Rice will make the most of the opportunity – when he gets his chance.
It also shows that Clement is a man of his word, of players put the work in.
