Why Mason Munn's future at Rangers is looking bleak after latest loan agreement

Mason Munn's prospects of ever becoming a Rangers star are hanging by a thread.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper made the move to Rangers' academy in 2022, leaving Northern Irish side Glentoran.

A Northern Ireland youth international, he's a highly-rated prospect in his home country.

However, the 6'3" shot-stopper is yet to really show what he can do in Scottish football.

Munn made his competitive Rangers debut in the Scottish Cup back in February last year, keeping a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Fraserburgh.

That remains his only competitive outing for Gers though, and his latest move points to how far away he is from adding to that.

Who has Mason Munn left Rangers to sign a loan deal with?

Last season saw Munn head out on two separate loan deals away from Govan.

The first half of the campaign saw him link up with Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic, where he made just eight total appearances.

Following that, he spent the second half of the season in Scottish League Two with Forfar Athletic, this time making just the six outings.

Munn has now been granted potentially his biggest opportunity to kickstart his senior career, however.

Rangers confirmed on Wednesday evening that Munn has signed on a season-long loan with Dumbarton.

The Sons are plying their trade in Scottish League Two, and on the face of it, this doesn't look like a great move for Munn for a number of reasons.

Why Munn has joined crowded Dumbarton goalkeeping merry-go-round

In Ivor Pandur, Rangers have found a goalkeeper that appears not for budging as their starting shot-stopper for the long-term.

As a result, if Munn has any ambition of becoming a first-team regular at Ibrox soon, he needs to shine with Dumbarton this season.

But Sons boss Frank McKeown may not afford him the opportunity to do that.

Dumbarton have four young goalkeepers on their books: Aidan Rice, Arran Crawford, Harry Broun and Jack McConnell.

All but Crawford have played at least one game in Scottish League Two this season, with Broun now seemingly having taken the gloves from Rice.

Clearly then, McKeown doesn't really know who his best goalkeeper is, leaving Munn to join a shot-stopping department with no clear hierarchy.

The Rangers keeper ideally needed to land somewhere with an obvious and sizeable role carved out for him, but that's not the case with Dumbarton.

As a result, there's every chance he returns to Ibrox next summer, or perhaps even earlier, even further down Derek McInnes' plans.