Leon King in Rangers limbo as board make Ibrox blunder after ‘attractive’ January development
Leon King is a Rangers player who will certainly be frustrated with the lack of gametime he has seen under Michael Beale.
The 19-year-old has had injuries to contend with, but one solitary minute of Scottish Premiership football in 2023 won’t see the defender reach his potential.
The Athletic claimed (31 January) the Light Blues had knocked back “attractive” loan proposals for the defender, and that decision is now looking rather foolish. King signed a new deal on 15 December but has barely featured since.
Beale had previously suggested that King’s gametime would come eventually, “if he deserves” the opportunity to start (The Herald, 11 March).
He will rightfully be frustrated with the lack of game time, and it’s even led to some pundits questioning the youngster’s future at Ibrox.
Speaking on the PLZ Football Show (PLZ Football Show 42m 39s, 3 May), Tam McManus claimed that King, Adam Devine and Alex Lowry could all depart if they aren’t given minutes between now and the end of the 2022/23 season, with “massive” change afoot in the summer.
King has seen his development stall massively. He was playing regularly in the Champions League during the first part of the campaign. Quite why Rangers decided to turn down the chance to send him out on loan remains to be seen.
Ross Wilson could well have had something to do with it, but Beale will have to take some of the responsibility. The coming weeks will be absolutely vital for King. He has to play. There are first-team players who won’t be at Rangers next season, so why give them gametime?
Ensuring Lowry, King and Devine feature is a must.
In other Rangers news, the club are clearly playing a sick joke with their supporters after they made an announcement about a senior player.