Van Bronckhorst can unearth his next Goldson at Rangers in “superb” wonderkid - opinion

Despite heavy links with some Premier League clubs, Rangers were able to keep hold of talismanic centre-back Connor Goldson this summer, as he committed to a new four-year deal at Ibrox.

However, had the 29-year-old decided to leave Glasgow, Giovanni van Bronckhorst may well have had a natural heir to the English defender in Leon King.

The 18-year-old is highly regarded at Rangers and looks set for a bright future at Ibrox, having already made eight appearances for the first team.

Before his departure for Aston Villa last November, former Gers boss Steven Gerrard was full of praise for the youngster, saying: “We want to be able to give these opportunities out to the kids, but the kids have got to come with us and they have got to be good enough and Leon has been superb in training.

“The biggest compliment I can pay him for his age and where he is at is he hasn’t looked out of place in training, so that wasn’t a sentimental substitution tonight – he has earned it by training really well among his peers at first-team level.”

Villa were linked with signing the teenager last season before he committed to a new deal which should keep him at Ibrox until 2024.

When the defender signed his first professional deal with Rangers, rejecting interest from Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal to do so, he reportedly became one of the highest-paid youngsters in the club’s history, so he is clearly regarded quite highly at Ibrox.

Van Bronckhorst may have added John Souttar to his squad this summer, but King will still be hoping to receive some more first-team opportunities next season.

Football Scotland have suggested that the 18-year-old returned to pre-season early to try and impress the Rangers staff, which suggests