Rangers: Leon King expected to leave Ibrox with Leon Balogun and Ben Davies – Chris Jack
Leon King is in line to leave Rangers “for the good of his career” and could depart this summer, according to Chris Jack.
Speaking on the 20 March Rangers Review Morning Briefing the journalist suggested that the 20-year-old could be part of extensive departures from Philippe Clement’s defensive options, having only had four brief outings all season.
Jack believes Ben Davies will probably be sold and Leon Balogun won’t be offered a contract extention as he turns 36 in June, but youngster King will be shifted too.
He said (14m 35s): “I think Leon King probably moves on as well, another one who it’s just not worked out for. He’s had some good moments and some difficult times.
“I just don’t think it’s worked out and he’s another player of a certain age who has just to go and play football for the good of his career.
“If he’s not going to be first choice for Rangers he can’t have another season of just being in the squad and getting the odd 5-10 minutes here or there. At this stage of his career that’s not what Leon King needs. It’s for the best that he moves on.”
Phillipe Clement to move on from Rangers academy product?
At his age King is going to need a lot more football than what he has managed with the Light Blues this season – a total of 14 minutes over four appearances [Transfermarkt].
That is a major reduction on what looked to be something of a breakthrough campaign last term, albeit in difficult circumstances, when he made 23 total appearances.
Whether some chastening outings in the dismal Champions League campaign during an injury crisis under Giovanni van Bronckhorst ultimately had a detrimental effect might be open to question but his development has clearly regressed a long way this term while the club has rebounded under Clement.
If the Belgian isn’t convinced that King can be one of the top first-team alternatives then the homegrown man probably does need to move on, disappointing as it will be for another academy product to depart.
On the other hand if he were to attract a reasonable fee it would be pure profit to go towards whatever business Clement has planned this summer, and there was English loan interest last summer which might suggest a permanent market.
If Davies is sold and Balogun doesn’t get an extension it would in theory be the ideal opportunity for King to step up the pecking order, but it is possibly debatable whether he has shown enough to do so.
In other Rangers news, a pair of non-defensive players are expected to leave as well because they can’t be relied upon.
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