Rangers have been handed a bitter blow after goalkeeper Liam Kelly agreed terms to secure an exit to Livingstone despite the Light Blues hoping to keep him, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper report that Steven Gerrard would have liked to see the 22-year-old remain at Ibrox but after Allen McGregor’s capture pushed him down to the fourth choice shot stopper, behind both Wes Foderingham and Jak Alnwick, he made a request to the board to leave in search of senior football.
With Livingstone having been promoted to the top flight via the play offs, he will be seeking regular playing time in the Premiership for a side he spent a season on loan at back in the 2016/17 campaign, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal to leave Rangers after joining as a 10-year-old.
Opinion
Despite the allure of Gerrard in the manager’s seat, not every player will want to join or remain at Rangers this summer and it should come as no surprise that Kelly was keen to make his wait out of the club. Had the Gers said that he would be second, or even third choice, behind McGregor, he might have stayed on with a hope of some senior action, but with neither Foderingham or Alnwick looking close to being pushed out the door this summer, Kelly had to take his career into his own hands. It should not be too much of a blow to Gerrard’s chances of catching Celtic but it will still be a disappointment to see someone leave that he would have hoped to keep hold of for a little longer. They will be hoping that his exit does not come back and bite them with Livingstone now mixing it among the top flight in Scotland.