Rangers: Ibrox club fumbled talented Scotland international in 2012 | OneFootball

Rangers have had a number of success stories pass their way through the academy at Ibrox over the years, including current first-team player Allan McGregor.

The Gers recently sold graduate Nathan Patterson for a club-record transfer fee in the January window after he broke through into the first-team and made his senior bow for Scotland whilst in Glasgow.

However, they have not always got it right with their young prospects and some players have slipped through the cracks before excelling elsewhere.

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Fumbled

One youth team player the club managed to fumble was midfield talent Lewis Morgan, who left Ibrox for £0 whilst in the U17s.

Morgan previously explained why he left the club, saying: “I was told at Under 17’s level that I’d be getting a full-time contract at Rangers, but after the Christmas break, some of the younger boys got playing ahead of me.

“At the end of the season I went in for a meeting with Jim Sinclair (head of youth), ready to sign a two-year deal, but he talked me out of signing.”

He joined St Mirren from the Gers and went on to establish himself at senior level with 29 goals and 23 assists in 118 outings for the club, earning himself a move to the other giant outfit in Glasgow – Celtic.

However, he found life at Parkhead difficult as he only made 31 appearances before signing for Inter Miami in the MLS. He produced 14 goals and assists in 58 matches and recently moved across the division to sign for New York Red Bulls.

The 25-year-old’s ability to take set-pieces with both feet was dubbed “rare to witness” by Miami and former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgres called the wizard “dynamic” as he hailed his qualities.

As you can see in the graphic above, Morgan’s market value has risen to £3.6m since leaving Rangers. Transfermarkt valued him at £90k whilst he was at St Mirren and at £675k at the time of his move to Miami, with his form in the MLS seeing him soar to £3.6m.

He caught the eye in his first season in America. The Scotland international averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.54 as he produced five goals and five assists in 24 appearances for Miami – creating a whopping 2.9 chances per game from midfield.

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In the current campaign, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.65 for New York Red Bulls – scoring three times and providing one assist in four matches. This shows that he is currently in terrific form for his new club and, at 25, he has the potential and time to kick on and improve further, which is why Rangers fumbled him in the youth set-up as they failed to tie him down to a professional deal.