Rangers: Leon King and Adam Devine set to start against Hibernian in Scottish Premiership – The Athletic
Rangers duo Leon King and Adam Devine are set to start for Rangers against Hibernian in Michael Beale’s first Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox as he continues to show faith in youth, according to The Athletic.
The 42-year-old will look to start his stint in Glasgow with three points as he attempts to reel in league leaders Celtic – who sit nine points above Rangers after the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
King, 18, is close to finalising a new deal with the Gers and is likely to get the nod to start as Beale continues to promote academy players into the first team.
The Scot has made 11 league appearances, alongside starting in all six Champions League games this campaign and will pair up at the back with 19-year-old right-back Devine.
The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell reported: “Rangers committed to making the academy a prominent part of their strategy in late 2019 and on Thursday against Hibernian there will likely be at least two starters with more on the bench.
“King will start in defence and right-back Adam Devine is likely to deputise at left-back due to Borna Barisic still being at the World Cup with Croatia and Ridvan Yilmaz recovering from injury.”
Bright signs
With King close to penning a new deal at Ibrox and now likely to be central to Beale’s plans, the initial signs of the Englishman’s impact are plain for all to see.
The pulling power and assurance given to the 18-year-old were likely one of the main reasons he remained at Ibrox, and under Beale – who was renowned for blooding young talent into his QPR side – he is in safe hands.
This shows one of the main reasons the Englishman was hired as manager of the club, with his track record at developing players such as King and Devine second to none.
Underneath the two young prospects who will start against Hibernian, Robby McCrorie, Archie Stevens, Zak Lovelace, and Paul Nsio will also be hoping to push themselves into first-team contention over the coming months.
If Rangers can keep supplying their side with a couple of diamonds from the academy every year, the club will surely only go from strength to strength.
In other Rangers news, a journalist believes Michael Beale can transform Malik Tillman into a £20 million player if he signs a permanent contract.