Meet the goal machine Rangers bought for five figures in 2022 and has scored 13 in 13 games for latest club
He was signed by Rangers in 2022 for money - now he’s shining elsewhere.
Rangers spotted his potential just over two years ago - now Connor Young is fully delivering upon it in the lower leagues.
The striker made it 13 goals in as many games in his division for League Two side Edinburgh City at the weekend in a 3-2 win away at Peterhead, netting a hat-trick. After relegation from the third tier last season, Young has been pivotal in throwing the Citizens into a promotion battle. He is the top scorer across the entire SPFL, four clear of joint-second place holders Ross Cunningham and Alan Trouten on 9.
Still only 20, Young started his career at Hibs. He spent time out on loan at Civil Service Strollers before Rangers identified him as one for the future, shelling out five figures in 2022 to sign him on a three-year deal. Head of Academy at the time, Craig Mulholland, commented when signing him: “We are delighted to welcome Connor to Rangers.
"He is a player that David Stevenson and our recruitment team have tracked for some time along with our technical staff who have seen him have some excellent performances against our own group.
“We believe that Connor has attributes that can be developed further working under David, Brian and their multi-disciplinary staff team. We look forward to seeing Connor link up with the likes of Robbie Ure, who has been with the first team in Portugal and is a player who has been in the Academy since he was eight years old and Zak Lovelace, an England international who joined us from Millwall.
“This is further evidence of our multi-faceted strategy to develop players all the way through the Academy, recruit the best talent in Scotland and also ensure we are competitive and leading with cross border recruitment. Welcome to Rangers, Connor.”
His time at Rangers brought plenty of experience with the youth teams but he didn’t crack the senior squad, leaving in 2023 after a loan at East Fife and the Ibrox club’s decision to pull their ‘B’ team out the Lowland League. He joined Clyde but scored just four times in 25 games for the Bully Wee.
Young was contracted to Clyde until the end of the season and returned to the capital ahead of this campaign, where has caught fire. He told the Edinburgh Evening News recently: "I think I'm producing my best just now because I'm enjoying playing football again and that's showing on the pitch.
“I always hoped to hit this kind of form but, if I'm honest, I didn't expect it to go how it has. I'm still young and learning my way in the game. We're a fairly young team but it's a really good group. We've got those experienced heads in Mark Weir and Jon Robertson.
"I had a good taste of League Two last year. It started off well at Clyde but then with the position we found ourselves in, the club brought in more experience to make sure we stayed in the league. I didn't really get much in the way of game time so it was a bit up and down.
"There wasn't the offer of a new contract at Clyde so the gaffer got in touch with my agent and invited me along to training. I really enjoyed it and just with the way the manager sees football, it really excited me and was something I wanted to be a part of.”
His talent was spotted by Rangers, so much so they spent a decent fee to sign him, when he hadn’t even made a senior Hibs appearance. It appears as if they were onto something, with the youngster’s form bound to attract interest further up the food chain.