Rangers agree terms with right-back – Done deal
Rangers academy right-back Jack Caldwell has signed his first professional contract at Ibrox, the club have confirmed.
Rangers B and Academy posted on X (14 January) to announce that the 15-year-old has penned a full-time contract at Auchenhowie, and will join the Bears’ Under-18s setup going forward.
Caldwell is still some way off coming close to his senior debut, but with academy product Aflie Devine on the outer at Ibrox, the teenager will forsee a clear path up the pecking order towards the first-team.
Speaking to the Gers’ website, technical director Nils Koppen said: “We are very pleased to welcome Jack into the full-time environment here at Rangers.
“Jack has progressed through our academy and now moves into our Under 18s group, where he will be supported through our education programme, marking an exciting step in his development on and off the pitch.”
Jack Campbell latest youngster on the Rangers production line
Although Philippe Clement faces an injury crisis with his current crop of first-team defenders in Light Blue, he won’t be able to call upon the 15-year-old Campbell to plug the gaps at right-back.
Clement is currently being forced into the unorthodox move of playing a left-footer on the right side of his defence, with Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo and James Tavernier all on the sidelines.
Devine still not being able to get a look-in despite this is an indication that his immediate and long-term future lies away from Ibrox, and that’s a fate Campbell will be looking to avoid in the coming years.
Next summer could see a complete overhaul in the position regardless of who is in the dugout at Ibrox, with Kasanwirjo’s loan unlikely to be made permanent and Tavernier also looking likely to move on.
Campbell will have to bide his time as he works his way up the Gers’ pecking order, but if a door does open for the teenager, the cut-and-thrust nature of Rangers means he’ll have to take it with both hands.
In other Rangers news, continuity could be key for Philippe Clement as he prepares his side for the visit of Aberdeen this week.
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