According to the latest reports from the Evening Times, Rangers are set to complete a deal for Portuguese midfield talent Umaro Balde. The 16-year-old reportedly impressed the Rangers’ coaches during a trial at the Hummel Training Centre. The midfielder is set to sign a two-year deal with the Scottish heavyweights.
Which position can he play in?
Balde has represented Portugal national team at the u-15 level, and he is predominantly used as a defensive midfielder. The midfielder is likely to spend time with Rangers’ youth and reserve teams before he can get into contention to play for the senior team.
Sporting Lisbon is known for producing some top talents over the years and one of the most famous footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo came up from their academy before being snapped up by Manchester United. Rangers will hope that Balde will be able to grow into a top player within a few years.
Balde is unlikely to have an impact on the first team squad, and he is probably going to be groomed as an option for the future. Currently, Rangers have plenty of options in the middle of the park. After the signing of Steven Davis and Glen Kamara in January, we don’t see Rangers buying a central midfielder in the summer transfer window.
The Gers came up short in stopping Celtic, and the Hoops are just one win away from achieving a treble. Rangers though should take heart from the two victories they had over the Hoops and the fact that they were level on points until the start of January should also be considered as a positive sign. However, a lot of work still needs to be done as Celtic didn’t even come out of second gear in the final phase of the season.
It is always essential to keep the pool of young players coming in. Rangers’ youngsters are best in the country as they won the Scottish FA Youth Cup and the reserve league. Recently Gerrard gave a debut to 17-year-old Dapo Mebude in the final game of the season. Mebude had scored in the Youth Cup final as well.
A brave move from the youngster
Balde will hope to establish himself at Rangers. It is going to be a big step for him as we often see academy players stay at their club until they are 18-19. The Portuguese midfielder is willing to move countries at 16 and Rangers would hope that he can come good for them in the future. All in all, the future looks bright for Gerrard.
