Rangers youngster completes loan move to Scottish Championship side until the end of season
The defender has played 42 times for Rangers across all competitions
Promising Rangers centre-back Leon King has agreed to join Ayr United on a season-long loan deal.
The 21-year-old defender was not expected to get much game time at Ibrox this season and is yet to feature in a single matchday squad under Russell Martin.
He played nine games for Queen's Park in the Championship last season and helped the club avoid relegation with an eighth place finish, and is now returning to the same division to join the Honest Men in a move which sees him link up with Celtic icon Scott Brown.
Brown, who has previously managed Fleetwood Town in the third-tier of English football, joined Ayr United in January 2024. He guided the team to a seventh place finish in his first six months in charge, and the following season helped them climb up four places to third while only missing out on promotion via the play-offs after a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Patrick Thistle at the quarter-final stage.
Leon King completes Ayr United transfer
Leon King has been at Rangers since his early years and was remarkably already playing for the Under-20s in 2018 when he was just 14-years-old.
King was long considered a bright prospect in the academy and represented Scotland at various age groups, including Under-16, Under-17 and Under-21, making a combined 18 appearances in total.
The Barrhead born defender made his debut in 2020 during a League Cup win over Falkirk and made eight appearances in total over the next two seasons during Steven Gerrard’s tenure while even playing a peripheral role in the club’s title win. He played the bulk of his football in the 2022/23 under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and later Michael Beale, with 23 of his appearances coming in that season.
King’s career has since stagnated at Ibrox, with him playing just nine further games. He spent the second half of last season with Queen’s Park and is now looking to develop his game under the stewardship of Brown.
The defender joins a Ayr United team that have struggled to get going so far with only three draws and one defeat from four matches. He’ll hope to bring some much needed stability in the defence at Somerset Park and get the club back into the promotion mix like last season.
The 21-year-old could be selected for the first time against Ross County at home on Saturday 13 September. The Staggies were relegated from the Premiership last term and find themselves rock bottom of the Championship with just two points from their opening five matches.
Ayr said: "The Club are delighted to announce the signing of defender, Leon King on loan from Rangers until the end of the season, subject to SFA approval. Welcome to the Honest Men, Leon."