Stephen Kelly lifts lid on Rangers future amid uncertainty in ‘massive’ view
Stephen Kelly admits he has no idea whether he is staying at Rangers or not amid uncertainty surrounding his future at Ibrox.
The 22-year-old has one year left on his Light Blues contract as he enters a “massive” 12-months.
Having spent half a season on loan at Salford in the 2021/22 campaign, Kelly will look to use what he learned on his return to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in pre-season as he looks to stake his claim in the squad.
He said as per Daily Record: “I’ve got another year at Rangers. I will report back for pre-season and see what is happening.
“I’ve not heard a thing about what will happen with me so I will return and take it from there.
“I’m 22 now so I am leaving the young stage of being a footballer behind. So obviously the next 12 months will be massive for me.
“Again, I’ve had no indication about what is happening at Rangers.
“I have to go back to Rangers for pre-season and take it from there.
“I went to Salford City in January. It was a very tough league but I really enjoyed it.
“I thought that if I could go down to League Two in England – which is renowned as a very physical league – and if I could prove myself at that level, it’s only going to help me improve my game.”
Time ticking.
Make no mistake, Kelly is a fantastic player, one with a huge future ahead of him but he has failed to live up to the hype surrounding him ever since he was promoted from the B team in 2021.
The midfielder said it himself, he is coming to the end of his young playing days and if he wants to establish himself in van Bronkhorst’s squad – he must act sooner rather than later.
Playing half a season of first-team football at Salford will undoubtedly boost his chances of doing so but you can’t help but think he still isn’t quite ready for the Bears.
The youngster will want to make waves in the team as soon as possible but there is no rush at all.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with building up his experience over several loan spells.
However, first, he must prove his worth and earn a contract extension.
In other Rangers news, a Sky journalist has predicted a big-name player to be done at Rangers after his Instagram post.