King is a ‘phenomenal’ talent and ‘amazing’ teams are trying to sign him from Rangers
Alex McLeish has admitted Rangers face a “big task” trying to tie Leon King down amid interest from Manchester United and Newcastle United.
The former Ibrox boss, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the 17-year-old is set for a “phenomenal” future with such “amazing” clubs already keen on signing him.
An Ibrox source told Football Insider (30 November) that the club are planning to open new contract talks with King, whose current terms expire at the end of the season.
Their push to tie him down comes after Football Insider revealed last Friday (26 November) that United and Newcastle are keen to sign the centre-back on a pre-contract agreement in January.
McLeish compared the youngster’s situation to that of a young Jack Grealish when he was the manager at Aston Villa.
McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “Those are amazing teams interested in him. If they come calling then there’s going to be a big decision for the kid to take.
“I’m sure Rangers will try everything to hold onto him. The Billy Gilmour one was very sore to take.
“When you’ve nurtured some young lads through the academy and you have a diamond in your midst then you want to hold on.
“It’s like Jack Grealish back in the day when I was at Aston Villa. The academy director came to see me, I gave him advice and we met Jack. Thank goodness Villa we were able to hold onto him. I was happy to be a part of that.
“So hopefully Rangers can hold on the young player, King. He has got a fantastic, phenomenal future ahead of him if he is already linked with these clubs.
“Everybody has tried over the years to persuade a player to stay. You know the lure of a much bigger league.
“That is a big task for them. If Villa had lost Jack, I think I would have got bad-mouthed big time.”
King has made two first-team appearances for Rangers to date, both of which came last season.
He was an unused substitute in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first game in charge against Sparta Prague.
In other news, Kieran Maguire has shared a “surprise” £12m Rangers reveal.