Rangers talent Ross McCausland is set to be kept at Ibrox with Michael Beale understood to have been very impressed with him.
That is according to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph, who claims that Rangers are now likely to pull a U-turn on McCausland’s future.
The 20-year-old had been expected to leave Rangers on loan this summer in order to gain first-team exposure.
Teams in Scotland and England were interested with links to Bradford City emerging and then being played down in July.
McCausland also had interest in Belgium and many expected a loan deal to go through ahead of next week’s transfer deadline.
However, Joseph suggests that McCausland is now expected to stick around at Ibrox beyond the end of the window.
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Despite receiving a number of enquiries, Rangers are ready to keep hold of McCausland with Michael Beale key to the decision.
Beale is understood to have been impressed with McCausland and now wants to keep him around as a potential first-team option.
Can Ross McCausland break through at Rangers this season?
McCausland, 20, actually emerged in the ranks with Linfield over in his native Northern Ireland.
Rangers pounced in the summer of 2019, landing McCausland at the age of just 16.
There have been high hopes for McCausland for a while now and we saw him make his first-team debut as a substitute against Hearts in May 2022.
McAusland bagged an assist in that game as Rangers won 3-1, but he had to wait over a year for another Scottish Premiership appearance as he came on against Hibernian in May of this year.
Making that step up to first-team regular isn’t easy.
Alex Lowry has had to go out on loan and it’s unclear just how much first-team action Leon King will receive this season.
That jump is a big one but Beale appears to have seen something in McCausland which is tempting him into keeping the youngster rather than loaning him out.
Maybe the Rangers boss feels that McCausland can learn more from being about first-team players right now than going out on loan.
That’s an interesting decision but leaves Beale the chance to re-assess in January if McCausland doesn’t break through in the coming months.