Rangers starlet Alex Lowry drops back to ‘B’ team for Youth League clash
Rangers breakthrough talent Alex Lowry will return to action for the B team on Tuesday (8 February) as they take on Sevilla in the UEFA Youth League.
The 18-year-old has featured in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first-team squad since he scored on his debut against Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup last month.
He is expected to return to the squad for the Light Blues’ next cup match on Saturday as they travel to Annan Athletic.
B team manager David McCallum is delighted to have a player of Lowry’s talent available for the big game with defender Leon King also back with the youth side.
“We always challenge them to come back to train and play at the first-team level and then challenge the others to get close to that as well,” McCallum said, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
“That’s what we want to do, we want to make sure we take every learning opportunity to maximise these moments.
“Alex has done really well in the games that he’s played.
“We’re very fortunate that he’s part of the group tomorrow so we look forward to that and hopefully he’ll challenge himself to make sure whatever he’s learned, as well as Leon, that they come back and show it with their performance.”
The right call
Lowry has done nothing wrong whenever he has graced the turf at first-team level but van Bronckhorst needs more if the Gers are going to challenge for the Scottish Premiership title.
The loan signing of Aaron Ramsey from Juventus adds another name above the teenager’s in the pecking order and chances at senior level will be hard to come by for the remainder of the season.
It’s perfect that he has a B team to fall back on and the Youth League is as competitive as it gets at age-limited football.
He and King might be ready to play a part for the senior team next season and they will undoubtedly get minutes in pre-season but van Bronckhorst can’t afford to blood youngsters now.
They’ve both got plenty of time on their side so spending another few months in the B team is no big issue.
In other Rangers news, Craig Levein has made an admission over a controversial incident at the weekend.