Glasgow pundit slams Rangers after source’s Leon King reveal – ‘this is wrong’
Frank McAvennie has slammed Rangers for blocking a loan move for Leon King in January.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Celtic striker said loaning out King for the remainder of the season would have been the perfect move.
On Monday (13 February), sources told this site that the Gers rejected a last-gasp loan bid for the 19-year-old from Hibernian.
The centre-back signed a contract extension at Ibrox in December 2022, keeping him at the Glasgow giants until 2026.
King featured heavily under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, particularly during Connor Goldson’s absence but has not played a single minute since returning from the mid-season break.
McAvennie insisted it was wrong for the Light Blues to reject a loan move.
“I get why the manager wants to keep him but I think for his progression it would have been better to let him go,” he told Football Insider.
“He could have gone there from now until the end of the season and he could be a mainstay at Rangers next season. He won’t be a mainstay if he does not get games.
“He wants to play and play with experience around him. I get why Rangers want to keep him as a backup but they could bring him back.
“If it was me I would have let him go but if Davies or Goldson got injured they could bring him back. But it did not happen and he is stuck without games.
“It is a crucial time so Beale is not going to chop and change his team. It is a shame for the boy, I get he wants to play for Rangers but he needs game time. He could have been a better player for it.
“He needs experience and he would have got great experience going to Hibs. Not letting him go was wrong.”
In other news, according to sources, big-earning Filip Helander is not expected to play for Rangers again.