Steven Gerrard has been speaking openly about his willingness to give youngsters a chance in his Rangers side.
In comments made to Rangers, Gerrard spoke about his desire to link up the Academy with the first team and to give youth a chance when the time comes.
“One of the things I wanted to do when I took over here was connect all the departments in the club, the Academy being one of them,” Gerrard told Rangers.co.uk.
“They are pushing, they have great quality and they have big futures.
“I am not afraid to give opportunities out to them.
“They will be training with us throughout the season in certain situations, and if they shine and prove they are as good as the people in front of them, then I won’t be scared to use them.”
Steven Gerrard has already shown he will put his trust in young players at Ibrox.
Gerrard used 19-year-old Glenn Middleton 29 times last season, whilst he also handed debuts to Serge Atakayi, Stephen Kelly, Jordan Houston and Dapo Mebude.
Expect all of these players to be knocking on the manager’s door going into the new season.
MORE RANGERS STORIES
Atakayi is currently back out on-loan with SJK in Finland but is set to return when the Finnish season finishes.
Middleton too has been linked with a move away from Ibrox, but
that appears to have been put on hold after Doncaster lost manager Grant McCann [Scottish Sun].
On top of this quintet, there’s also the likes of Academy Player of the Year Josh McPake, the returning Jamie Barjonas and academy graduate Ross McCrorie, who Steven Gerrard once called a future Rangers captain.
That’s eight youngsters from the club’s Academy who’ll be knocking on the door next season.
And eight players Steven Gerrard won’t be afraid to use if he thinks they’re ready.
