The international break came at a good time for Glasgow Rangers boss Danny Rohl, as it has provided him with time to assess his first block of six matches in charge of the club.
Having arrived at Ibrox last month to replace Russell Martin, the former Sheffield Wednesday head coach did not have a pre-season or any real time to assess the squad and what he wants to do moving forward.
The main focus has been on short-term results, which has resulted in three straight wins in the Scottish Premiership, most recently with a 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park.
This international break, however, will have provided Rohl and Kevin Thelwell time to sit down and map out the longer-term plan, so that the next steps can be taken to set foot on that path, in the next few weeks and in the January transfer window.
Part of that longer-term plan should include finding a way to create a better pathway from the academy to the first-team so that the Gers can develop homegrown stars, instead of constantly needing to splash money on new signings to bolster the squad.
Unfortunately, there have not been too many recent examples of stars who have broken through from the B team to the first-team to make a name for themselves at Ibrox.
The most valuable former Rangers academy players
Whether it is changes at academy or first-team level, the Light Blues should look to address the lack of quality academy graduates that have come from the youth set-up in recent years.
19-year-old starlet Findlay Curtis has shown promise this season, with a return of three goals in 11 appearances in all competitions, but he has not started any of his four outings in the Premiership, per Transfermarkt.
The Scottish youngster is currently valued at around £400k by Transfermarkt, which is understandable given his lack of starts at first-team level, and that means that he does not rank within the top ten most valuable former Gers academy stars at this moment in time.
Billy Gilmour
£18m
Nathan Patterson
£11m
Greg Taylor
£5m
Ross McCrorie
£2m
Lewis Morgan
£2m
David Bates
£1m
Robbie Ure
£1m
Ryan Hardie
£1m
Malcolm Ebiowei
£1m
Ross McCausland
£1m
As you can see in the table above, the most valuable former academy talent is Napoli central midfielder Billy Gilmour, who is who is worth as much as the next three highest combined.
Unfortunately, the Scotland international did not play a single game for the Light Blues at first-team level because he opted to sign for Chelsea at the age of 15, with a development fee of at least £500k paid to Rangers.
When asked why he decided to move on from Ibrox, Gilmour later said: “It was between Rangers and Chelsea. Most of my family are Rangers fans and I love the club. I’ll always be thankful for everything they did. But when Chelsea showed me my development plan, I couldn’t turn it down. Everything about the club was amazing and it’s where I wanted to be.”
Whilst the pull of a Premier League title winner and regular Champions League contender will always be big, the midfielder’s comments about a ‘development plan’ were interesting.
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Without knowing what goes on behind the scenes, it is hard to know whether or not the Gers are doing enough to convince young talent that they have a development plan that will turn them into a star at Ibrox.
One academy graduate who has seemingly not had a clear pathway to being a regular in the first-team is Bailey Rice, which is why Rohl must avoid him becoming a Gilmour repeat.
Why Danny Rohl should unleash Rangers teen Bailey Rice
The Gers youngster is not in the exact same situation as Gilmour, because he is four years older and has had experience in the first-team, but the club may run the risk of him wanting to move on if his lack of game time persists.
Thelwell, as shown in the graphic above, made it clear on Saturday that he wants the talented academy graduates at the club to be given chances at Ibrox, but that has not happened for Rice this season.
The 19-year-old star has played 45 minutes of football, against Alloa Athletic in the League Cup, for the Light Blues in the 2025/26 campaign, which means that he has not played a single minute in the Premiership.
In the summer transfer window, Rangers swooped to sign 30-year-old central midfielder Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth to bolster Russell Martin’s options in the defensive and central midfield positions.
That signing has played a part in blocking Rice’s pathway to playing minutes in the Premiership, and the experienced midfielder’s performances so far suggest that they may have been better off giving those chances to the youngster.
Appearances
8
Starts
5
Minutes
412
Goals
0
Assists
1
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.9
Dribbled past per game
0.4x
Ground duel success rate
46%
Aerial duel success rate
50%
As you can see in the table above, Rothwell has offered very little offensively or defensive in the middle of the park in his 412 minutes on the pitch in the league, losing the majority of his overall duels.
The English flop’s struggles suggest that the Gers would have been better off giving those 412 minutes to Rice to benefit his development and put him back on track to becoming a first-team regular, as Thelwell stated that he wants academy players to be given chances.
Rice made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old and was described as “a heck of a player” by former boss Michael Beale, as he made 14 first-team appearances in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns combined.
After a Europa League clash with Manchester United in January, Rio Ferdinand said that he liked Rice and hailed his composed play and “wonderful” passing in midfield, which shows that he impressed a former Premier League title winner and England international.
The teenage talent has only featured in seven Premiership games, starting once, in the subsequent 11 months, per Sofascore. This means that he has not had ample opportunity to nail down a place in the team.
Therefore, Rohl should avoid another Gilmour situation by finally handing Rice a chance to shine in the Premiership after the international break, to let him learn and develop, rather than continue to play Rothwell, who is at the opposite end of his career and has struggled this season.
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