Deadline day saw one of the brightest young talents in Scottish football arrive at Rangers, as another said his goodbyes and bid farewell to Ibrox.
The football gods giveth Rangers Lyall Cameron, and they taketh away Zak Lovelace.
While the Dundee ace prepares for a summer switch to Glasgow – Nils Koppen snapped up Scotland Under-21 international Cameron on a pre-contract arrangement – Lovelace brought a premature end to a career which promised so much on the blue side of the city.
As Philippe Clement begins involving Rangers’ next generation with increasing regularity, Paul Nsio, Findlay Curtis and particularly Bailey Rice have featured recently with an eye on next season, 2025 was also supposed to be the year when Lovelace graduated from the reserves to become a first-team option.
Clement handed him a start against Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup. The winger was also trusted to play the final 15 minutes or so of that vital Europa League victory over Union Saint Gilloise, while Lovelace provided an assist for Cyriel Dessers off the bench at Dundee United.
No wonder Rangers were keen to tie down Zak Lovelace with new contract.
But when Millwall came calling, offering the London-born youngster the chance to return home three years after he left The Den for Ibrox, former England Under-17 international Lovelace jumped at the opportunity.
A decision Derek Ferguson, the one-time Rangers midfielder, feels he may look back on with some regret later down the line.
Zak Lovelace told he could regret leaving Rangers for Millwall
“I’m really surprised at that,” a disappointed Ferguson sighs. “This might be a boy who looks back in a few year and thinks ‘what was I thinking?'”
On the face of it, Lovelace swaps a Rangers side just 180 minutes away from the Europa League quarter-finals for a Millwall side mired in mid-table in England’s second tier.
But that rather misses the point. The main driving force behind his deadline day switch appeared to be a desire to head back home. Something James McFadden can appreciate.
“I’m surprised Zak Lovelace is away but, if he wants to go and get closer to home, I get it,” says a man who re-joined Motherwell back in 2013 after ten years away from Fir Park.
The frustration for Rangers, however, is that he was just starting to make serious progress behind the scenes with the club’s second-string.
He scored the winner as Rangers beat Celtic in the rescheduled Glasgow Cup final in December, before Zak Lovelace showcased his ‘sheer pace and power’ en route to another ‘brilliant’ goal against the club’s Old Firm rivals a few weeks later.
Millwall director admits Lovelace was ‘really keen’ to return to London
According to the Daily Record, Rangers could eventually make upwards of £1 million from Lovelace’s departure. That will pale into insignificance, however, if the teenager fills the boots of former Millwall forward Romain Esse before joining the now-Crystal Palace newbie in the Premier League for big money later down the line.
Steve Gallen, Millwall’s sporting director, admitted that Lovelace was ‘really keen’ to re-join a Millwall outfit where he spent three years from 2019 to 2022.
“I’m very pleased to be bringing Zak Lovelace back to the football club,” Gallen told the Millwall website. “Zak had been really keen to come back as well, so discussions have been going on for the past few weeks about it. I want to thank Glasgow Rangers for their help with this deal.”
“It feels like he is well into his career already, having made his Millwall debut in 2021, but we have to remember he is only 19-years-old. Patience is required as he adapts to the demands of this League.
“Training and being around the first-team, under the guidance of Alex Neil, will be of huge benefit to him.
”He is a great athlete; big, strong, quick, dynamic, takes people on and gets crosses into the box and has shots on goal. It’s another very good and young signing for us.”
