Kieran Maguire tips Rangers to invest in young stars amid ‘£98m’ Celtic reveal
Rangers will continue to invest in their academy in order to close the “£98million” gap in player sales between themselves and Celtic.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Scottish champions’ youth academy.
As revealed by this site last Monday (3 January), Nathan Patterson has signed for Everton in a £12m deal that could rise to £16m with add-ons.
The 20-year-old right-back is one of Rangers’ finest academy products in recent years and his big-money sale is a record for the club.
Speaking to The Athletic on Thursday (13 January), Ibrox chief Stewart Robertson declared: “We appreciate where we are in the supply chain.”
Maguire contrasted Rangers with their cross-city rivals and emphasised the importance of a well-oiled production line.
“Yes, I’d expect more investment in the academy,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“You only have to strike gold once. Buf you do your homework before you start drilling, you’re much more likely to strike gold.”
“Some people do feel a bit uncomfortable in viewing young men as commodities, but it is part of the nature of football.
“If we take a look at Rangers’ sales since 2012-13, they have generated £12m worth of sales up to 30 June 2021.
“So Patterson has effectively doubled in one transaction what they made in nine years previously.
“In that same time, Celtic have generated £122m, so that’s a £98m gap.“
Kieran Tierney became Celtic’s record sale when he joined Arsenal for £24m in August 2019.
The Hoops are six points behind Rangers after 20 matches in the Scottish Premiership.
In other news, Rangers TV pundit cites Glen Kamara as “brilliant” Ibrox offer reported.