Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has claimed that 18-year-old defender Leon King should be given more first-team game time at Ibrox.
King is a young defender at Rangers who has been involved with the first-team squad this season. He has made three appearances for the Gers this campaign, featuring twice in the SFA Cup and making his Premiership debut last weekend.
Rangers currently sit second in the SPFL, but it is a big ask for them to catch their rivals at the top of the table as they are six points behind with an inferior goal difference with just five games left to play.
With Celtic already having one hand on the trophy and Rangers potentially not having much to play for in the league, Halliday has said that young players at Rangers such as King should be given first-team minutes.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, he said (via Ibrox News): “I would love to see [Alex] Lowry, King, young boys that deserve to get a chance. I would love to see them get game time between now and the end of the season.
“He [King] was brilliant [against St Mirren]. I told you when I left Rangers when you asked who I thought the next player was. Nathan Patterson was one, I always felt Leon would be the one to step up. He has a 30-year-old’s brain, which I think is massive for younger kids.”
TIF Thoughts on Andy Halliday’s comments…
King looked comfortable during his SPFL debut on Sunday, coming on after 45 minutes following Filip Helander’s injury. The Gers went on to win the game 4-0 and King impressed – posting a passing accuracy of 87%, making three clearances and having 50 touches of the ball, as per SofaScore.
With the league Celtic’s to throw away, this could be a great opportunity to play King in the remaining games of the season to give him more experience of first-team football.