Rangers currently have a shortage of homegrown talent, however, in Leon King we have one that is worth holding onto.
The 20-year old may not have had the season he expected after 26 appearances for the first-team squad last term but he remains a player who will be expected to make a name for himself sooner rather than later.
In 2022/23, Rangers had an injury crisis that saw Leon King play as a centre-half throughout the campaign and with different partners but could the recent international break point to rethink on how he is used?
Rangers have Leon King option to get best out of youngster
The one thing that King lacks to be a top-quality defender is that he is yet to become a commanding presence in the air.
Yes, this is a quality that usually develops through time and with the aid of an extra few kilos worth of muscle but, at just over 6ft tall, he is already up against it when marking some of the SPFL’s more physical target men.
But, looking at what he is good at, could his qualities be better suited elsewhere?
Neil McCann felt that King reminded him of a former Ibrox teammate after his starting debut, another player who broke into the Rangers team at a young age and could play across a variety of positions:
“Leon King’s strolled it, he’s looking a wee bit like Craig Moore to me.
“I’m not saying that he’s a Craig Moore right now, but he’s got the same type of (attributes)
“Craig Moore wasn’t a big physical centre-back in terms of he wasn’t 6’4”, but he was aggressive, strong built, good in the four, good in possession of the football and he could pass.
“Leon’s had a really good 45 minutes for his debut.”
Walter Smith played Moore at centre-half, right-back, wing-back, defensive midfield and even as a right-sided midfielder, until he developed into the defender that became a future club captain.
King’s debut could be a pointer for the future
I always thought that Rangers would introduce Leon King more as cover for James Tavernier, after all, this is where Steven Gerrard gave him his debut.
Young central defenders are often gradually embedded into senior football through a position where spacial awareness isn’t as highly scrutinised and opponents tend not to be 6ft plus battering rams.
Rangers though, didn’t have the choice and Leon King had to play in the centre of defence and in a Champions League group that featured as hard a draw possible with some of the most intimidating forwards.
During his early days in the academy and the B team, King was often deployed as a defensive midfielder, the same position that he played in Scotland Under-21’s games this week against Belgium and Hungary.
Two backs to the wall performances that saw two clean sheets.
McCann’s initial impression still rings true, King is comfortable on the ball, has great vision and can execute a range of long passes, he also has a natural ability to defend.
As a converted centre-half, he has the attributes needed to do the hard work out of possession but the skillset that has seen him linked with clubs like Manchester United and Newcastle United are his strengths on the ball.
Rangers need more depth in midfield and, especially, one that can break up play and turn defence into attack, maybe Leon King could save Philippe Clement a few pounds.
