Glasgow Rangers head coach Michael Beale has enjoyed a terrific start to life in the dugout at Ibrox as he remains unbeaten after 13 competitive matches.
The Light Blues manager, who replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst during the break for the 2022 World Cup, has made his team hard to beat whilst being lethal going forwards, and he has not been afraid to utilise young players.
Adam Devine, Leon King and Alex Lowry have all earned first-team outings under the current boss, and they are three players who could be the next stars to come out of the academy system at Ibrox.
A number of talented players have made their way through the youth setup at Rangers over the years, including the likes of Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour in recent times, but the club have not always made the right call on their young talents.
What happened to Lewis Morgan?
One gem who they allowed to slip through their grasp was attacking midfielder Lewis Morgan, who was released by the Light Blues at U17 level in 2012.
The dynamo signed for St Mirren’s academy and eventually made his breakthrough at first-team level, with Transfermarkt valuing him at €100k (£88k) in 2018 after he had played 118 matches for the club.
His form earned him a transfer to Rangers’ arch-rivals Celtic in 2018, and he made 31 appearances for the Hoops before making his way to the MLS with Inter Miami FC.
The maestro scored seven goals and set up another seven in 58 appearances with the Florida outfit, and this led to a move to New York Red Bulls in December 2021.
Since arriving in the Big Apple, Morgan – who was once hailed as “dynamic” by his former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers – has been in stunning form, with 18 goals and three assists in 37 outings.
In 2022, the Scotland international averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.11 in the MLS as he created seven ‘big chances’ and provided 1.2 key passes per game for his team-mates across 33 appearances in the division to go along with his 15 goals.
His impressive form for Red Bulls has led to Transfermarkt raising his market value to €6m (£5.3m), which is a jaw-dropping 5,900% increase on what he was worth after breaking through at St Mirren following his exit from Rangers’ U17s.
At the age of 26, Morgan also has time on his hands to progress further and increase his value by continuing to perform to a high level in the MLS, potentially earning a transfer back to Europe in the future.
Therefore, the Light Blues missed out on a potential jackpot by releasing him as a youngster, as he has subsequently proven that he is a creative goalscoring midfielder who can perform at Premiership and MLS level. His market value has duly soared, which indicates that the club could have sold him for a decent fee if they had waited to decide on moving him on.
Instead, they allowed him to leave for nothing and have had to watch his career blossom from afar…
