Bailey Rice BORN to be a Rangers star as Ibrox dressing room insider reveals 4 key reasons kid can reach the top
The teenage midfield star is making a name for himself in Philippe Clement's first team
Ianis Hagi reckons Bailey Rice can be a natural-born thriller for Rangers.
The Ibrox teenager is highly-rated at the club but has found game time hard to come by. However, he got the chance to shine during Gers’ recent Europa League clash at Old Trafford when he was thrown against Manchester United at half-time. And he got another 45 minutes worth of top-team experience on Sunday as he was introduced off the bench during the 4-0 Ross County skelping.
Both times he impressed Hagi, who reckons the kids posses a key trait you just can’t teach. He said: "Bailey is a really talented player. As with every youngster, you learn you gain experience by playing. He's doing this right now and he has to take as much as he can, learn as much as he can and he'll definitely have a bright future.
“To perform at a club like Rangers, we're not just talking about Old Trafford, we're talking about Ibrox as well. Just performing every three days at Rangers is not an easy job and he’s doing that at a really young age. In my opinion, you can't learn or teach this. You either are born with it or not.
“He obviously feels comfortable playing for Rangers and that's a really big step already but there's so much more into the game that you have to learn.
"He's a kid that really listens and he's open to learning. He's a really talented player and as I said, every minute, every training, every second of it, just try to get as much information as possible into yourself and that will definitely help and he'll definitely have a bright future.”
Boss Philippe Clement confirmed he allowed Kieran Dowell to move on loan to Birmingham last week to clear the path forward for Rice. And Hagi has vowed to do all he can to help the Scotland youth international take the next step too. He said: “If I have the opportunity, definitely. If he comes to ask, I'm always open.
“I'm not that guy who just goes around and tries to make myself important around him. But he'll learn, he's a smart guy and we have experienced players in the squad so whenever he feels like he needs advice, we are there for him.”