Barry Ferguson: Leon King can follow Nathan Patterson pathway to Rangers first-team
Barry Ferguson says 17-year-old Leon King should be taking notes from Nathan Patterson in order to make his full Rangers debut.
King was highly sought after by a number of elite clubs last year, including Manchester United and Arsenal, before he signed a ‘historic’ six-figure Gers contract that made him one of the best paid youngsters in the club’s history [Daily Record].
He made his Light Blues debut as a second-half substitute against Falkirk in the League Cup [November 29] but has yet to make his full debut or appear since that 4-0 win.
However he has been named on the bench in four of the last seven games, including both legs of the Europa League tie v Slavia Prague, and former Gers captain Ferguson says he must be close to a first start now.
Writing on the Daily Record website, he said: “[On a first start] That’s exactly what some of the youngsters at Ibrox now should be striving for with Rangers having wrapped up the title with five league games still to go.
“There’s highly-rated guys in there like Leon King who must look at what Nathan Patterson has done this season and think ‘I want a piece of that’. I’m sure some of them will have suffered setbacks at some point too.
“If the manager thinks they have potential to be a Rangers player in the future then it won’t stop him giving them a taste of the first team and it’ll be a massive step in their development.”
Give him some games
With the Premiership title already wrapped up and just five games left of the league season now is the time to start trying some of our hot prospects out in the first-team.
Furthermore our next fixture sees us pit our wits against third-tier side Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup and that is the perfect match for young stars like King to feature, ideally from the start of proceedings.
It is important, however, that he is blooded in gently and with some experience next to him.
If he does start against Cove Rangers it may wise to pair him with Connor Goldson, Filip Helander or Leon Balogun. The issue then, however, is that new signing Jack Simpson will also be chomping at the bit for game time.
Steven Gerrard will face plenty of these problems over the remainder of the season so it will be a tough balancing act for him.
But one thing is for sure – we really want to see King in action before the campaign’s conclusion.
He has been talked about in glowing terms and this is the perfect time for him to step up and showcase his qualities.
In other Rangers news, club U-turn on Bongani Zungu decision.