Rangers news as Zak Lovelace may not play again this season after appearance v Celtic
Zak Lovelace has received a call-up to England’s Under 17 squad for the European Championships and may have played his final game for Rangers this season, as reported by the Glasgow Times.
The London-born teenager made an appearance from the bench in the final stages of last Saturday’s victory over Celtic and now he is set to represent the Young Lions.
England was drawn in Group D, where they will play Croatia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Due to the imminent scheduling of the youth tournament, the talented attacker appears unlikely to see any further action for the first team this season.
“The striker has been called into England’s under-17 squad for upcoming the European Championships in Hungary,” the report said.
“And with that, his season at Rangers appears to be over.
“The ex-Millwall attacker featured for the Ibrox club in Rangers’ 3-0 win over Celtic on Saturday but that looks highly likely to be the last time he turns out for Michael Beale’s first team this term.
“That’s because of the scheduling of the continental competition this summer. England enters the tournament tomorrow, with their first game against Croatia. Their third and final group game is scheduled for Wednesday, May 24.”
Time on his side
England will have aspirations to go deep into the tournament, so Lovelace would be quite unlikely to be back in Glasgow, to be in contention for the final game of the season against St Mirren on Saturday 27 May.
His cameo against Celtic shows the esteem in which he is held by Beale and the coaching staff at the club, just a few days after he performed well in the Glasgow Cup final for the B team.
Going away and playing for real, against the best of his age group from around Europe will be more beneficial for him than a few isolated minutes over Rangers final fixtures of the campaign.
He has plenty of time on his side, looking forward, and the pre-season period will be vital for him in continuing his development and showing the Rangers manager that he is good enough to be in his plans.
Still only 17, Lovelace is an emerging talent but once he is good enough to be considered as a first-team option, his age won’t matter.
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