Newcastle medical finished to sign Rangers attacker within days, contract agreed
Russell Martin has a lot on his plate as he prepares to lead his Rangers side into their upcoming Champions League qualifiers.
The Bears’ boss will surely be hopeful of adding new faces to his squad ahead of their all-important clash with Greek giants Panathinaikos on 22 July.
He is also currently facing interest for several of his key players, at the worst possible time. Hamza Igamane is being swarmed with interest from across Europe, while Cyriel Dessers also seems likely to move on.
Alfie Hutchison will join Newcastle on 1 July
Nico Raskin is another man who has been hotly tipped for a potential Ibrox exit, but it now looks as though Rangers may be able to convince him to stay, and thus avoid losing him to the Premier League.
However, the same cannot be said for youngster Alfie Hutchison, who is now in line to depart the Govan outfit in a matter of days.
The 16-year-old has passed a medical with Newcastle United and agreed terms on a long-term contract at St James’ Park, according to Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph (28 June).
With everything now agreed for the move, Hutchison will make the switch south of the border on 1 July.
Rangers’ inability to retain one of their bright young stars is symptomatic of the gap that has been established between the Premiership and England over the last few decades.
Losing Hutchison is a blow for Rangers
Hutchison may have been several years away from reaching first-team level at Ibrox, but his departure is still a major blow.
Rangers beat off fierce competition to secure his services from Hearts last year, and they would have been hugely excited to have tied down a player who is expected to develop into a special talent.
The fact that the Scottish youth international is already departing the Ibrox club, before they were able to make millions from him, is surely a huge source of frustration behind the scenes.
If Rangers are to progress under their new ownership and reinstate themselves as the footballing superpower that they once were, they will need support from their academy setup in order to bring their starlets through the ranks.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, they will instead be left licking their wounds.
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