This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to Football Insider, Liverpool are interested in signing Rangers youngsters Nathan Patterson and Leon King.
What’s the story?
The two defenders are just 18 and 15 respectively, yet the Reds have been alerted to the pair by scouts. They are both being looked at as potential additions to the club’s academy.
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In regards to Patterson, they will need to move quickly, as the Scottish side are in talks to give him a new three-year contract.
Steven Gerrard could be key
So far in their young careers, the pair are yet to make their debuts for the club’s first-team. Patterson has made four appearances for the Gers’ reserves in the Challenge Cup, but that has been the height of either of their contributions to the senior squad so far. Having said that, they are both highly thought of in Scotland, and they clearly have plenty of talent if Liverpool are looking at signing them.
Scottish football may have a rich history, and two fine clubs in Rangers and Celtic, but the overall quality of the league is not enough to keep the very best players there for too long. The Ibrox outfit have already lost one starlet in recent years, with Billy Gilmour having made the move to Chelsea in 2017, and they will be reluctant to part ways with another two.
Realism, though, should be at the forefront of their minds, and they will know that should they reach the level they are capable of, they will move to the big lights of the Premier League anyway.
Since Steven Gerrard took over the reigns at Rangers as the club’s manager last year, four players have moved to the Glasgow-based club from Merseyside either on a short-term basis or permanently. The former Reds captain has been able to make use of his contacts at Anfield, but so far, Liverpool have not been able to do the same to their benefit.
Gerrard and Rangers will know that if they snub the European champions in regards to their promising youngsters, they will not reap the benefits of being able to take the good-quality players who just aren’t quite good enough for England’s top tier. As such, the unofficial partnership between the two teams could finally pay off for Jurgen Klopp and Co.
In other news, Rafa Benitez has said that this £600,000 signing was his best-value purchase at Liverpool.
