Rangers player tipped for transfer exit amid Aston Villa and Sunderland rumours amid five big questions
Aston Villa and Sunderland are some of the clubs linked with signing the Rangers attacker.
A Rangers player has been tipped to leave the club this summer amid transfer rumours surrounding Aston Villa and Sunderland moves.
Bailey Rice has shown his promise at Ibrox across 16 senior outings but injury has wrecked progress this campaign. He is out contract in the summer and the 19-year-old has been linked to a host of sides across Europe, alongside Premier League teams like Aston Villa plus Sunderland. Mark Hateley rates the midfielder highly and the former Rangers striker can see why teams like the English duo like Rice.
That said, he can’t see him sticking about in Govan, as he needs to start building regular senior minutes. It’s not happened consistently at Rangers, and while not in the know over conversations with head coach Danny Rohl, there are five key questions that are likely to seal his exit.
Will Bailey Rice leave Rangers?
Hateley, who still works as a club ambassador for Rangers, said: “I think Bailey's been at the club a long, long time now. He knows the distance you have to go to become a Rangers player. I don't think his injuries have helped him this year. He's a great lad. He has a presence. He's a big boy as well. But as I say and as we've seen in many younger, I'm going to say, Scottish players, and I'm going to say English players, French players, whatever.
“Young players need to go and find a path and a start to build a career on. Bailey's just touching it at the moment. How old is he? He's 19, but at 19 you're looking now, you're looking at and I'm going to say he should be confirmed and one of the 11 on the team sheet. Sometimes, obviously with the traumatic period that the club has been through, it's been difficult for younger players to come through.
“I don't know what the conversation is with him, and Danny, and the staff, whether he's there or not. I'm not going to say just Bailey, but all young players need to find a starting path, whether it's in France, whether it's in Spain, as we've seen with a lot of the Scottish boys in Italy at the moment.
Where will Bailey Rice play his football next season?
“They've found a place to start a career and build a career and build on a career to take them through into their mature years, should I say. So, Bailey's at that time, whether he's got to say, right, can I stay here? Does the club want me here? Have they shown enough to keep me here? Have I shown enough to keep me here? Is this the right place?
“It's a big decision for a young player to be making, but I think probably, I'm going to say his decision will be to start somewhere else. Finding a place for him that suits his type of football. He is a big player, he carries himself well, so I don't think he'll have too many problems in finding something.”
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