For all the excitement that surrounded Kyle Glasgow committing his future to Rangers, recent contract negotiations over a professional deal weren’t the first time the club had gone the extra mile to keep the talented youngster at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard spoke with Glasgow and his family when he first signed for Rangers aged nine, during the 2019/2020 season. Glasgow had also been training with Hearts at the time, where his brother still plays, and given his family’s strong affiliation to the club, much like this time around, there was little need for hearts and minds to be swayed.
Still, a phonecall from Gerrard was the type of interaction that left a mark and was an indication of just how long the academy product has been highly rated internally at the training centre.
Glasgow is a boyhood fan and, despite serious interest in England as well as across Europe this past year, the 16-year-old’s willingness and desire to remain at Rangers matched the club’s ambition to keep him.
That shouldn’t be underestimated. Brexit rules have stopped English clubs from signing youth players under the age of 18, but because Scotland counts as a “domestic market”, individuals north of the border can be targeted from the age of 16.
That key juncture where clubs gamble on potential evolving in their own academies has seen a long list of Scottish talents attracted to the English game before making a serious first-team impact. James Wilson (18) left Hearts for Tottenham and Evan Mooney (18) joined Arsenal from St Mirren in January. Meanwhile, Rory Wilson is one example of a similarly highly rated player who left Ibrox for Aston Villa as a 16-year-old.
Chris Condy, part of the same age group as Glasgow, is joining Brighton on a professional contract and there is also a growing belief that talented young defender Ashton Scally, who turns 16 in April, could also end up in England, with Manchester City a possible destination.
All this to say, there are no guarantees anymore that the finest youth talent stays in Scotland once able to sign professional terms. That, in part, is why keeping Glasgow at Ibrox is viewed as a real coup.
The Rangers Review reported in January that there was growing confidence the winger would commit his future to the club and, by early February, the relevant paperwork had been signed and sealed. The player’s 16th birthday in mid-February delayed the announcement, and a debut in the Scottish Cup the month prior, but a deal was publicly confirmed last Friday.
Speaking at the Alkass International Cup in late January, Glasgow had pre-empted: “I’ve agreed to sign for Rangers, I’ve wanted that since I was a wee boy. I joined the academy when I was four and I’ve just progressed. I’m doing things I dreamed of as a young boy, being in and around the first team but I want more, I want my debut and I’m just going to keep working hard.”
Reacting via his own Instagram account to his deal, which runs until 2028, Glasgow posted a photo with a certain Alfredo Morelos, taken around the time of that call with Gerrard.
The youth pathway at Ibrox hasn’t proven to be a seamless one in recent years. What young players require more than anything is consistency and, from changes at the first-team level to alterations in approach and personnel leading the academy, supporters have been starved of seeing a player really break into the first team and make an impact since Nathan Patterson in 2021.
Glasgow’s ability and mature head present him with an excellent chance of bucking that trend, though.
A relatively small but strong winger, who can also play centrally given his awareness with his back to goal and vision for a pass, there is a belief that Glasgow could still grow in stature.
Size is not an obstacle, though, given his ability to bounce off tackles and a beneficial low centre of gravity. More than one of his 15 goals at youth level this season has been defined by its power, with dipping, trademark drives after jinking in from right to left a common feature of his game. His older brother, Euan, is a defender at Hearts who stands around 5’11.
One industry insider compared Glasgow’s game to that of Xherdan Shaqiri when speaking to the Rangers Review because of his build, technical ability and explosive qualities. Another name likened to him, due to Glasgow’s growing off-ball capacity – a necessity in the modern game – was that of Anthony Gordon. For any player to make the jump to first-team level, they’ll need to work relentlessly out of possession, regardless of their ability on it.
Glasgow has impressed many internally with his maturity. Listen to him speak in an interview and it could feasibly be a far older individual talking, not a budding youth prospect. That, alongside his obvious talent, will be the key component in his bid to become a regular at Rangers.
Rangers’ efforts to keep Glasgow have extended back several months. Former sporting director Kevin Thelwell was involved in the club’s first presentation to the player and his family before his exit from the club late last year.
Discussions, which extended into 2026, also featured a visit from Danny Rohl during one round of talks, who had already seen Glasgow first-hand training with his first team. The Germans’ words are understood to have been limited throughout the process, but Rohl is believed to have told Glasgow simply that he wants him in his first team.
The scrapping of the B team at Ibrox last year was designed to expose young talents to first-team training at an earlier juncture, in conjunction with the SFA’s loan cooperation scheme, and now it is the Under-19 group the German will use in training.
Rohl regularly tasks the Under-19s with mirroring upcoming opponents for a tactical walkthrough in the days before matches, enabling youth players to experience trialling different tactical approaches and competing earlier with the first team at the training centre.
However, Glasgow has not only been in sessions acting as the opposition, but also featuring as part of Rohl’s own cohort.
One source told the Rangers Review that Glasgow was involved in Rohl’s session at the turn of the year before the Old Firm win at Parkhead. That, it was posited, demonstrated how highly Rohl rates the young talent. Simply, you’re not risking bringing a 15-year-old into training before such a monumental game based on semantics, but because you trust his ability.
I heard you like seeing Kyle Glasgow skills
pic.twitter.com/TcPgKSijMp— The Young Team 🏴 (@The_Young_Team) January 27, 2026
Glasgow has already represented Portugal (Under-16) and Scotland (Under-17) at youth levels. Qualifying for the former nation through his mum, the attacker was watched by international staff from the Portuguese set-up in Spain when he scored for Scotland a little over six months ago.
Portugal’s Under-17s went on to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time in their age group last November in Qatar. Glasgow was called up to their Under-16 squad the next month, making his debut against Italy. The ultra-competitive environment of youth football in Portugal didn’t dampen the attacker’s frustration at not playing a full 90 minutes, however. It was viewed as another positive learning experience in a new environment for Glasgow.
Last month, Glasgow was called up to the Scotland Under-17s for a round of friendly matches. Playing a year up from his age group, the last academy product from Ibrox to do the same was the now-Villa forward Rory Wilson. Scotland Under-17 qualifiers at the end of this month, which Glasgow has been called up for alongside Max Cameron and Aiden Crilly (both a year older at 17), include matches against Turkey, Spain and Northern Ireland.
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It’s tradition when youth players sign a professional contract for families to be invited to a first-team game as guests of the club, to mark the achievement, of course, but also to provide a glimpse of what could be.
That upcoming day will be a special one for the Glasgow family as Rangers supporters. There is still hope that, despite age preventing the young attacker from making his debut in the Scottish Cup against Annan or Queen’s Park (Glasgow was 15 at the time of both fixtures), a debut could ensue before the curtain comes down on the 2025/26 campaign.
No youth pathway is certain and nothing can be guaranteed. However, with his future secured, Glasgow has as good a chance as any of completing the dream of many who enter the academy process and making the coveted first team.
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