Rangers must not let youngster Jack Wylie leave Ibrox despite Arsenal interest
Rangers are known for having a vast academy which has produced some excellent youth talent with many operating in the first team now.
Alex Lowry has been a shining light since bursting onto the first-team scene, with the 19-year-old likely to make a significant impact in the years to come.
18-year-old Leon King is another player who has proven himself to be more than capable of operating at first-team level, putting in a solid display against Champions League finalists Liverpool in the Gers’ last fixture.
There is also Adam Devine who has been given a chance by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and then Charlie McCann, who featured in the B team after his move from Manchester United.
All of these players are great examples of how younger talent can develop whilst in the first-team environment and prove to be assets for the club in the future.
Sadly though, Rangers have been guilty of losing some of their younger players before they’re given a chance in and around the first team. Too often, the Gers loan out academy players to lesser teams in Scotland and they get lost in the lower echelons of the professional game.
On other occasions, the Gers see their hottest prospects poached by Premier League clubs, and this is something Ross Wilson cannot allow to happen.
16-year-old sensation Rory Wilson was signed by Aston Villa in the summer after making a seismic impact for the Gers at youth level. Regardless of the money involved in the deal, the club hierarchy must be moving heaven and earth to keep the likes of Wilson at the club.
The latest exit that would be another damning indictment of Wilson’s reign is if youngster Jack Wylie is allowed to leave for Arsenal. The Daily Record report [6 October] that the Gunners are scouting 15-year-old fullback. It’s also understood that Rangers would be compelled to let him depart.
This mentality from the club is simply not good enough. Cashing in on a player before they know his potential is something that has to stop. At the moment the Gers are potentially throwing money away in terms of younger talent leaving the club.
It’s time that the best of Rangers’ academy prospects are viewed by the Ibrox faithful before they’re potentially sold to a team from south of the border.
In other Rangers news, the club now had a record-breaking striker on trial at Ibrox and he’s gone on to make headlines in the United Kingdom.