After a middling start to their season at home and abroad, things finally appear to be clicking for Pedro Caixinha and his Rangers team.
A solid away win at Ross County was recently followed up by an impressive 4-1 victory at home to Dundee, although Rangers would have hoped for a better result against Partick Thistle on Friday night ahead of a huge derby with Celtic at the weekend.
While the first-team squad seems to be in good shape finally, with a fair amount of depth, every supporter loves seeing young players coming through the academy and taking their chance on the big stage. Caixinha has thus far not been afraid to give youth a chance and there is plenty of scope for more youngsters to get opportunities, with league cup fixtures on the horizon.
These are the THREE youth stars we reckon should feature more for the Gers over the coming months…
Jamie Barjonas
Jamie Barjonas was one of Pedro Caixinha’s picks that came through into the first team last term. He made his debut away to Partick Thistle, helping them pick up a morale-boosting last minute win.
With later appearances against the likes of of Hearts and Aberdeen, it’s clear that the Ibrox boss rates the teenager at Scottish Premiership level.
So far this season he hasn’t featured but he’s been in good form for the club’s development side who, instead of competing in the Scottish U20s League, are trialling an experimental series of challenge matches against teams from around Britain and Europe.
One of those fixtures came last week against Premier League side Brighton and although the Light Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat at Ibrox, Jamie Barjonas was one of the stand-out performers, getting himself on the scoresheet to equalise.
Rangers could do with more creativity and spark in midfield and Barjonas could be the man to deliver it over the coming months if Caixinha turns to him once a gain.
Ryan Hardie
Having spent the last couple of seasons out on loan, it could be young Ryan Hardie’s time to shine for the first-team at Ibrox this season. At Scottish Championship side Raith Rovers the forward scored 14 goals in 34 appearances across two loan spells, showing he has the potential to be a goalscoring talent for Rangers.
He’s been in and around the first team already this term, even making a substitute appearance against Hearts last month.
With development challenge matches against Manchester City, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur on the way over the next few weeks, he has the perfect platform to net some goals against elite competition and prove to Caixinha he deserves more chances.
Ross McCrorie
The captain of Rangers’ U20s team, Ross McCrorie is showing the potential to become a solid defender and leader for the Light Blues over the coming years. Still just 19 years of age, he hasn’t yet made a competitive appearance under Pedro Caixinha but was included in friendly matches over the summer.
A Scotland U21 international alongside the likes of John Souttar and Anthony Ralston, this season could finally be his breakthrough campaign at Rangers. The Light Blues aren’t blessed with great depth in the centre of defence and working alongside the likes of Bruno Alves, his game could come along massively if given the chance.
In games against weaker Scottish Premiership sides in which Rangers are expected to dominate possession, playing McCrorie could be seen as relatively risk free and he’s at the age where he needs matches to bring his game to the next level.
He has limited experience after loan spells at Ayr United and Dumbarton, but it’s clear he’s thought of highly both at club and international level and Caixinha shouldn’t hesitate to give him a chance.
