Rangers contract news: Arron Lyall extension emerges after Michael Beale hands teenager debut at Hibernian
Arron Lyall has signed a one-year extension to his Rangers contract after making his first-team debut in the win at Hibs, the Daily Record reports.
The 19-year-old came off the bench in the dying minutes of the 3-1 victory in his first action for the senior side, and has been rewarded with another year at Ibrox.
The winger has been a regular in the Lowland League this season, and made four appearances for Inverness Caledonian Thistle on loan two season’s ago, but got his first taste of the SPFL at the weekend after four years with the Light Blues.
Breakthrough
There hasn’t been enough of a pipeline of talent from the Rangers youth team to the senior side, and that has contributed to Michael Beale needing to bring in almost half a squad’s worth of signings this summer as veterans move on.
Lyall has been given more time to impress the manager over the next 12-months, so it has been a positive week for him in terms of his potential prospects at Ibrox.
But there were encouraging appearances from a handful of youngsters in a solid late-season win this time a year ago when Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side went to Tynecastle and won 3-1 against Hearts (14 May, 2022) and it hasn’t translated into a great deal this season.
Alex Lowry played the full 90 minutes that day but his progress has stalled this season and his involvement in the first-team has been sparse, prior to late substitute appearances in the past two matches.
Cole McKinnon scored in the Hearts win a year ago, and he has been less involved on loan at Partick Thistle in recent months, while there were outings for Charlie McCann who then left for Forest Green, Jack Simpson who departed to Cardiff, Tony Weston who has spent the season on a pair of loans to Partick Thistle and Cove Rangers, and Kyle McCausland who came on a minute before Lyall at Easter Road.
It is good to see fringe youngsters get an opportunity late in the season, but Beale could still do with more of an impact from home grown youngsters when the chips are down.
In other Rangers news, a forgotten man is Ibrox-bound after a transfer decision has been made.