Lewis Mayo to be unhappy with Rangers transfer development – Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson believes young Rangers defender Lewis Mayo may not be too pleased about the Ibrox return of Leon Balogun.
The Gers completed their seventh signing of the summer in a surprise move for the Ibrox favourite as Beale wanted more experience to bolster his back-line for the forthcoming season.
And that may restrict Mayo, who spent last season on loan at fellow Scottish side Kilmarnock from getting minutes this season, with Ferguson writing in his Daily Record column (15 July), stating that the 23-year-old may have to go on loan again with Rangers not wanting to take any risks in their Scottish Premiership title pursuit.
Ferguson said: “Yes, Lewis Mayo might not be too pleased but the young man shouldn’t take it personally. This season of all seasons, Rangers simply can’t afford to take any unnecessary risks because the title simply has to come home.
“If that means the likes of Mayo need to go out on loan to pick up more first-team experience then I’m afraid that’s just the way it works at a club the size of Rangers.
“His chance will come. But right now Michael Beale needs options that he knows he can hang his hat on and Balogun fits right into that category.”
Unfortunate casualty
Indeed, Beale certainly won’t be taking any risks with youth players during the league campaign, hence his surprise moves for Balogun to return to the Ibrox ranks.
If Rangers are to topple Celtic next season, they will need as much experience, leadership and know-how as they can especially given the expected turnaround of experienced players right now.
The Gers will need standards and competitiveness to be maintained in the squad and Balogun adds that glowingly, however, it does come at the expense of Mayo who enjoyed an impressive spell at Kilmarnock.
For the betterment of his career and development, the youngster may have to go out on loan again, especially with Balogun being a back-up to Beale’s likely centre-back options.
If players like Leon King are struggling to get games right now, there may not be a spot on the bench for Mayo.
In other Rangers news, Tom English has reacted to the “big defeat” suffered by the SPFL in the sponsorship dispute.