Gedion Zelalem joins Rangers from Arsenal on loan until January

[the gunslinger 3,366]

We will have positions to fill regardless. So play Templeton as we own him.... But then he isn't good enough for SPFL so needs replaced anyway.

 

We aren't talking about half a team of loanees, they all play in different positions so it isn't as if complete partnerships would have to be built from scratch.

 

It doesn't take many to really cost you. Celtc could be out of the cl. Because they had to change center halfs.

 

I was thinking more Walsh than Templeton but yeah play either.

 

We will have to make changes but we shouldn't compound that.

[trublusince1982 243]

Long term. Name one

when the players who have came in leave with their careers benefiting from the experience it opens the eyes and shows proof to all other youth players out there what playing for Rangers can do for their careers. The bigger the names associated with our club especially from a young age the larger the name recognition we receive. It shows all employees involved in the youth department from scouts to coaches the level of player that is necessary to have. It shows talented players what opportunities present themselves by playing for rangers. If everything goes well it also means there is a very talented player out there with a soft spot for Rangers who otherwise would never have looked at us. Again if everything goes well it enhances our sell ability as a club and shines up our name recognition in terms of our academy. It speaks volumes when teams like arsenal who play a certain way and players who then go onto play at a high level have been coached by us. Its all about brand awareness. Its also about keeping our standards high and setting the bench mark for achievable and acceptable levels in player recruitment. Playing players who are not good enough just because they came from the u20's or such is lowering the tone and ability of the whole club tarnishing our name and ability to attract and improve quality players.

 

imagine next year when warburton is trying to attract players, any player worth his salt will look at how the team played under him. Having the likes of the boy from arsenal strutting his stuff shows what warburton wants in its best light.

 

 

It is only my opinion but i would say the likes of odauwa coming in and showing his level of ability has already benefited the likes of mckay by denting his ego a little and making him realise he needs to buckle down and achieve more. It also helps break the scottish mentality in our young players of what is achievable on the field. Watching odouwa run with the ball and getting the fans on their feet is a shining example to the likes of mckay and walsh, just the same as brian laudrup encouraged a legion of wee boys to play his style of football so in a lesser degree do these boys.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Imagine all of that but with our youths

[rbr 1,247]

You cannot expect change to happen over night GS , this will need a few years for our youths to be ready , more and more of our own young players will go out on loan , you cannot expect academy kids at the U20 level to be ready to go straight in to the first team

[chilledbear 16]

keith jackson ‏@tedermeatballs 1h1 hour ago

Early morning klaxon. That's the Gedion Zelalem deal now confirmed. He's signed for Rangers from Arsenal on a season long loan.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

If nothing else it seems we are an attractive proposition.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

You cannot expect change to happen over night GS , this will need a few years for our youths to be ready , more and more of our own young players will go out on loan , you cannot expect academy kids at the U20 level to be ready to go straight in to the first team

 

Many do though and indeed are ready. I'm as much talking about buying players as promoting youths though.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

If this lad is on 18k a week (I'm not doubting it) the footballing world really has gone mad !!

 

Probably includes London weighting

Edited August 22, 2015 by BrahimHemdani

[chilledbear 16]

America’s next top soccer star is a hotly run contest. It might not have a primetime cable TV slot, or Tyra Banks as host, but competition is fierce. Social media provides the judging panel, with YouTube clips and vines of a rabona or a Panenka from a US-born winger playing in a lowly European league enough to provoke a virtual frenzy – usually in the direction of Jurgen Klinsmann’s Twitter account.

 

Previous contestants have failed to fulfil their promise: most notably Freddy Adu, but also perhaps Jozy Altidore, and to a certain extent Landon Donovan (although admitting so might be seen by some as soccer sacrilege). Now the country’s soccer collective have their hopes pinned on two teenagers. Gedion Zelalem of Arsenal and Bayern Munich’s Julian Green are the vanguard of America’s not totally American next generation.

 

Zelalem (born in Berlin) and Green (born in Tampa but moved to Germany aged two) now find themselves at a pivotal juncture of their careers, with both players requiring first-team opportunities to hasten their development. And so with Green fresh from spending last season on loan at Hamburg, Zelalem is on the brink of a loan move of his own, by agreeing to join Rangers until January at least. But does a talent once described as possessing the ability to “dribble like Iniesta and pass like Xavi” belong at a higher level?

 

 

Arsenal’s Gedion Zelalem to join Rangers on loan until January

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On first impressions, the Scottish Championship is not the most obviousplace for Zelalem to develop as the world-class player he hopes to become, but US soccer’s next great hope is hardly pitching up at Alloa Athletic or Greenock Morton. At Rangers, under new manager Mark Warburton – a refreshingly progressive and forward-thinking coach – Zelalem will receive a more fitting induction to the senior game than seems apparent.

 

The Glasgow club haven’t always been the best for developing wünderkinds. Ally McCoist’s side were a distinctly one-dimensional, hoof-and-hunt outfit last season, and had Rangers approached Arsenal for Zelalem this time last year, it’s fair to assume Arsène Wenger wouldn’t have been so willing to send the youngster north. Now, however, Rangers are a different team.

 

Under new ownership and management, Rangers – for so long a toxic headline – look like a functional soccer side again. While McCoist’s side was a mishmash of washed-up and worn-out names, Warburton’s team are dynamic, incisive and exciting – making them the perfect fit for Zelalem. Scottish soccer is better than is often credited, but it’s also true that at such a level the German-born USA youth international would be a shining star in a winning team – and nothing builds confidence and stature like winning. In soccer terms, a move would appear to suit all three vested parties.

 

A number of English Championship sides were reported to be interested in taking the 18-year-old on loan this season, although the player himself is thought to favour a spell in Scotland after visiting Rangers’ impressive Murray Park training facility for talks with Warburton on Tuesday. Wenger must make the right call on what is best for his young prodigy, with the allure of keeping Zelalem close by at a London club like Fulham surely strong.

 

And yet the Arsenal boss must also recognise the additional benefits of sending Zelalem – who has only made two senior appearances for the Gunners – to Glasgow. Perhaps more so than ever before, Rangers are expected to win every game this season, having missed out on promotion to the top-flight last term. Such pressure, and playing in front of crowds of more than 50,000 on occasion, can only serve the teenager well at Arsenal – where the mental demands of delivering Premier League can crush even the brightest of young talents. A loan spell at Rangers could in fact be the ideal education.

 

For Rangers, the benefits of securing a loan deal for Zelalem are clear. Warburton missed out on the signing of Scott Allan – their marquee summer target who joined Celtic last week – but the Arsenal teenager might be an even better fit, as a speedy, sharp-witted, adaptable midfielder with impeccable technique. Of course, no one can completely safeguard the surefire success of a player – even one of such ability – but Zelalem is not short of ringing references from those who have seen him at close quarters.

 

“It won’t be long before he is ready [for the Arsenal first-team],” Jack Wilshere mused of Zelalem last year. “He sees passes that not a lot of players can, and he’s so comfortable on the ball. Even in training, he’s a nightmare to play against. He keeps the ball away from you and shields it. He’s not very big but he’s strong. He drifts in and out of players. Technically, he’s right up there. He can use his left and right and he sees so many passes.”

 

Such qualities have drawn Warburton to Zelalem, as he looks to build a side out of keeping with how soccer in Scotland is widely regarded. Scotland can be a challenging place for players of his mould – Spurs loanee Nathan Oduwa was lambasted by an opposition defender last week for having the audacity to attempt a piece of trickery – but Rangers would appear to provide Zelalem with a platform to vindicate some of his own hype. Glasgow might be the perfect home for America’s next top soccer star.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/19/gedion-zelalem-usa-soccer-star-arsenal-rangers

[pete 2,499]

Many do though and indeed are ready. I'm as much talking about buying players as promoting youths though.

 

It is now pretty obvious that King is not going to put money in unless it is totally necessary. I have no problem with that as we should be run like any business and you cannot spend what you do not have. If he can get Rangers running totally self-sufficient then it is a greater deed than throwing money at a bottomless pit. Hopefully with good football this season and many full houses and a share issue we will be self-sufficient and still be able to buy a player or 2 next season.