OPINION
Rangers might have already signed 15 senior players this summer in a whirlwind of Ibrox arrivals.
But the overhaul of the playing staff is not restricted to those under the command of first-team manager Steven Gerrard.
The Glasgow giants have one eye on the future as well as the here and now, and have demonstrated that their business hasn’t ended with the closure of the summer transfer window.
The official Rangers youth academy Twitter account revealed on Thursday afternoon that striker Chris McKee has joined the club’s Under-18s on a full-time contract.
McKee, 16, has made the move from Northern Irish top-flight club Linfield after impressing on an extended trial at Rangers.
? #RangersFC can today confirm that Chris McKee has joined @RFC_Youth under-18s on a full time contract from @OfficialBlues and will continue his studies at our partner school Boclair Academy.
— Rangers B & Academy (@RFC_Youth) September 6, 2018
It is a major coup for the Scottish giants, who have already made so many shrewd signings for the first team this summer, most notably the likes of Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Lassana Coulibaly, Scott Arfield and Kyle Lafferty.
Capped by Northern Ireland at Under-17 level, McKee is a highly-rated young centre-forward who has scored prolifically in his homeland.
He has also made a big impression at Ibrox after bursting the net on a regular basis since moving to Glasgow earlier this summer with the chance to prove himself in youth-team matches.
McKee, whose father is a huge Tottenham fan, has done enough to earn his first professional contract.
Rangers do not state how long the deal runs, but his father has been more candid and revealed it is a three-year contract.
Making the step up from the semi-professional level that Linfield play to the more demanding Ibrox environment will be major challenge for McKee.
But he is is good company. The teenager is among a crop of exciting youngsters who have moved across the Irish Sea from Linfield this summer along with Scott Pengelly (Fleetwood), Ben Wylie (Celtic), and Aaron Brown (Bury).
McKee has a brilliant chance to launch a professional career at a club with a glorious past and hell bent on an illustrious future.