Rangers set to discover soon if they can keep Arsenal kid Gedion Zelalem...

[ian1964 10,431]

...until the end of the season.

 

RANGERS could discover by the end of next month whether they have a chance of retaining Arsenal kid Gedion Zelalem for the remainder of the Championship campaign.

 

Boss Mark Warburton revealed last week that he was keen to keep the midfielder at Ibrox beyond his current loan spell which is due to expire in January.

 

Rangers saw off competition from several clubs south of the border to complete a deal for Zelalem during the summer and interest in the 19-year-old will again be high come the turn of the year.

 

The playmaker has made eight appearances for Warburton’s side so far this season as he has helped the Light Blues make an impressive start to the campaign.

 

Former Gunners Academy Director Liam Brady could make a personal check on the Emirates kid when Rangers face Hibernian on Sunday as they look to move eleven points clear at the top of the Championship standings.

 

And the Arsenal club ambassador admits the Gers are in a good position to sign the American youth internationalist for a second time as boss Arsene Wenger gets set to decide the futures of a host of his most promising talents.

 

Brady told SportTimes: “I might come up for the Hibs game on Sunday and I will also be speaking to Mark.

 

“He keeps in close touch with the club and he has already made it known that he would like Gedion to stay for the second half of the season.

 

“I think if Gedion is happy to stay then we would look favourably on that. But it will be entirely up to Arsene Wenger at the end of the day.

 

“I think by the end of November we will have a meeting about all our loan players and see how they are doing.

 

“We have to evaluate the next transfer window. Gedion will be one of those we discuss. A lot depends on how Gedion himself feels.

 

“The most important person in all of this is the player. If he is not happy somewhere then it really doesn’t work for anyone.

 

“But if he is happy and playing in the team then I think that counts for a lot.”

 

The influence of boss Warburton was key to Rangers landing Zelalem in the summer as the highly-rated coach was trusted with developing one of Arsenal’s most promising assets.

 

Warburton also completed deals to sign defender Dominic Ball and forward Nathan Oduwa from Tottenham Hotspur and is keen to use the loan market where possible to increase the strength and depth of his Ibrox squad.

 

It is a route the former Brentford manager has gone down for several years and Brady admits Warburton's track record will stand Rangers in good stead.

 

He said: “Mark has done well for us with loan players over the last few years. We had Wojciech Szcz?sny at Brentford, we had Jon Toral there, and we had Chuba Akpom there.

 

“So he has had a number of our players and we know that he looks after them well. Mark goes into every detail and that is something that we like.

 

“He is very meticulous in what he does and we know that when our boys go somewhere with him that he will do his best to look after them.

 

“We have no hesitation letting our players to go him, so it could be the start of something more, I don’t know. We shall see.”

 

After missing the Championship clashes with Falkirk and Queen of the South and the Petrofac Training Cup quarter-final win over Livingston earlier this month, Zelalem returned to the Gers’ starting line-up against St Mirren on Sunday.

 

He looks set to retain his spot for the crunch clash at Easter Road this weekend as Warburton’s side look to take a huge step towards title glory.

 

And Gunners legend and former Celtic boss Brady is confident the midfielder will be reaping the rewards of his time north of the border.

 

He said: “It is great experience for him to be playing for Rangers and to be playing in front of 40,000 fans every home game.

 

“He is finding out how tough football is because he is playing for a team that everyone wants to beat every week.

 

"He is growing up so it has worked very well so far. I will go up and speak to Gedion and see what he thinks.

 

“There are some big games in the Championship and there will be cup games as well. They have a semi-final coming up and there will be good games for Gedion to play in.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/13900584.Rangers_set_to_discover_soon_if_they_can_keep_Arsenal_kid_Gedion_Zelalem_until_the_end_of_the_season/

[Frankie 8,179]

Zelalem was very poor on Sunday but clearly has all the tools required to be a first class player.

 

Will be interesting to see if he starts against Hibs as Shiels did better than him when he came on at the weekend.

[Rousseau 9,463]

I think he's an important player in our side. It'd be great to get him for the remainder of the season. He's so important to the side, I worry about replacing him for next season! Maybe he'd come back to play in the Premiership?

[der Berliner 3,273]

While they both have quality, I'd rather see Oduwa and Zelalem not as defo starters. While they have their qualities, IMHO Ball has been the most consistent of the three loanees (and in an area that demands it).

[gisabeer 409]

Im not a big fan of zalalem. Wouldnt miss him to be honest.

[Bruno55 0]

When we're on song young zelalem is at the heart of everything and the last few games without him we've had no playmaker to create the chances. Yes, he looked jaded but he's been away on international business. If arsenal are coming up to watch him trust me he'll be playing at Easter rd. He's starting games cos shiels or law can't create chances for 90mins and they disappear for long stages in a game whereas zelalem is always looking to get on the ball. My opinion only...

[colinstein 294]

He wasn't in the side at the start of the season when we were passing our way through defences.

If Arsenal are up on Sunday i agree, he'll play.

if not, I reckon we'll start with Law or Sheils and he might come on around the hour mark

[calscot 0]

I think Zelalem has to prove to us he can be useful as a starter till the end of the season. I think we're now in a position where everyone has played us and will play us three more times - and they are finding a way of playing against us. So far has not been effective in gaining any points, but it's close and better for their pride than a drubbing.

 

Just as we need our most creative player to step up a gear to penetrate packed defences, Zelalem seems to have gone into neutral. It's his time to shine, so he needs to take the opportunity, otherwise the likes of Shiels and Law will be the better options, and the American will start to look like a passenger.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

Just a reminder here that it's not a case of signing him again, according to my well-connected Arsenal informant "You're to pay £6.5k a week of his wages .............. There is a break clause in January"; so, if that is correct, unless Arsenal enforce it or we let him go back, then he will be staying.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Meh.........

 

Would be a better deal for him and arsenal than us.