To Play 50 Games – Rangers Star Still Pinching Himself Despite Exit | OneFootball

Rangers defender Leon King is of the view that the fact that he has played over 50 games at different levels with the Gers, whom he grew up supporting, will take time to sink in.

The 21-year-old centre-back came through the Rangers academy system and was very highly rated in Scottish football before his debut for the Gers in 2020 against Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup.

Andy Halliday identified him as the best talent in the Rangers academy, while Mark Hateley said King was ‘going to be massive’ after he broke through.

He then attracted interest from Premier League giants, but struggled to hit the heights expected and one former Rangers star felt he was played too soon.

King has made 42 senior appearances for Rangers so far in his career and played second half of the last season with Scottish Championship outfit Queen’s Park.

The Gers have a new boss in the form of Russell Martin and King is not in his plans now as he has brought in three new centre-backs in the form of Nasser Djiga, Emmanuel Fernandez and Derek Cornelius.

Rangers have just sanctioned a loan for King to join Scottish Championship outfit Ayr United, where he will play under former Celtic star Scott Brown’s management.

King, who is a boyhood Rangers fan, feels that to be able to play one game for the Ibrox outfit would have been amazing for him, but the fact that he has played over 50 games at different levels for the Gers is something that will settle in him long after he has played his last game of football.

When asked about his feeling regarding playing 50 games for Rangers, King told Ayr United’s in-house media: “To even play one game for a club who I grew up supporting would be amazing, but obviously to play 50 games at all different levels is, I don’t think it will quite settle in probably until I finish my career in a long, long time but again, I am grateful for the opportunity I had there.

“Now I have a job to do here and I am ready.”

The 21-year-old pointed out that he was not given the chance to play football in recent months and he is excited to get back to the pitch with Ayr United.

When asked whether he is buzzing to play for Brown’s team, King said: “100 per cent!

“As a footballer, all you want to do is play games and unfortunately I have not had that chance over the last few months, so I am ecstatic to be here and ready to go.”

Ayr will face Ross County on 13th September and all eyes will be on Brown’s matchday squad to see whether King will be in there.