Nick Ware

Sat 27 November 2021 11:10, UK

Manchester United, Leicester City and Newcastle United are all in pursuit of Rangers defender Leon King, according to the Scottish Daily Express.

King, 17, has attracted the attention of the English trio despite failing to make a first-team appearance this season, though he was on the bench for Thursday’s 2-0 win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Now, Rangers are set to table a new contract offer to the ‘B’ team captain, one that will trump the “historic” deal he was handed in 2020 as it enters its final year.

Keep King and build for the future

Steven Gerrard deserves a lot of credit for his tenure as Ibrox boss, but one criticism levelled at him has been the lack of opportunities for emerging stars at Auchenhowie.

Generally, Gerrard opted for experience as he looked to re-establish Rangers as Scotland’s top dogs and put them back on the map in Europe.

He did that, for the most part, as he secured the Premiership title last season to dash Celtic dreams of 10-in-a-row while leading the Gers to the last 16 of the Europa League again.

It’s hard to argue against Gerrard as his remit was to drag the club back to the top, and that’s easier done with experience.

But Bears want to see their academy graduates in the side, and one, Nathan Patterson, wasn’t integrated quickly enough for their liking.

King is a few years younger than Patterson and did make his debut under Gerrard last season, but there will be hopes that Giovanni van Bronckhorst can fast track him into the first-team as a regular member of the squad, rather than a bit-part player.

The Dutchman is used to promoting from within as a result of his experience in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, and King will hope to profit from that.

The promise of regular football in the coming years could help tie him down to the Gers in spite of Premier League interest.

In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist launched into a passionate on-air Chris Sutton plea on BT Sport over his Ibrox row.