Why Rangers have struck gold with a new deal for Rhys Breen

As confirmed via Rangers’ official Twitter account, Rangers have secured the immediate future of academy starlet Rhys Breen, who has put pen to paper on fresh terms to extend his stay at Ibrox until the summer of 2021. 

Along with fellow academy youngsters, Brian Kinnear and Lewis Budinauckas, the 19-year-old had pledged his future to the club until the end of the ongoing season by signing a new deal back in March.

However, the Gers have offered him an extension which will keep him in the youth setup until 2021. 

Essentially a centre-back by trade, Breen has also illustrated the versatility to play as a left-back for Graeme Murty’s U21 side.

The 19-year-old has caught the eye with his displays for the U21s in the Scottish Challenge Cup this term, starting each of the Gers’ fixtures on their way through to the semi-finals of the tournament. 

Having guided his team to a penalty-shootout victory over National League side Solihull Moors in the fourth-round, the central defender retained his place for the quarter-final clash against Wrexham and was instrumental as Murty’s side progressed to the last four with a clean-sheet. 

To put things into perspective, Rhys Breen is yet to make his senior breakthrough at Rangers but he is a fine young defender and the Gers have struck gold by extending his stay until 2021. 

There are several factors as to why a senior debut has eluded the talented 19-year-old centre-back so far, including stiff competition for places at the back in the first-team.

In Dapo Mebude, Lewis Mayo, Jamie Barjonas, Daniel Finlayson, James Maxwell and several others, Rangers have some exciting up and coming players in their development side and a new deal for Breen is yet another stance that indicates the club’s faith in blooding youngsters. 

Gerrard’s willingness to build a squad with a perfect blend of youth and experience has been well-documented, with youngsters like Jake Hastie, Sheyi Ojo, Joe Aribo and George Edmundson coming through the door in the summer to link up with veterans Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe. 

Verdict

Hastie and Glenn Middleton were amongst the youngsters to depart Ibrox on loan in the summer. Ideally, a temporary spell away from the club could be the next step in Rhys Breen’s development curve. 

With Filip Helander, Nikola Katic, Edmundson and Connor Goldson all competing for two places in central defence, Breen’s prospect of first-team football looks bleak at the moment.

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All in all, Rhys Breen continues to be a fine young talent with loads of potential and Rangers need to oversee his development with utmost care in order to ensure that he gradually makes strides to fulfil his promise.