Why Rangers should beat Celtic to sign St. Mirren wonder kid Dylan Reid
According to The Scottish Sun, Old Firm giants Rangers and Celtic are set to go head-to-head in a transfer tug-of-war over St. Mirren wonder kid Dylan Reid, who has impressed in the Saints’ youth setup this season.
The 14-year-old midfielder is yet to make his senior professional bow for St. Mirren in the Scottish top-flight but he has already attracted widespread interest from across the continent, with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Portuguese heavyweights Benfica also among his growing list of admirers (h/t The Scottish Sun).
Dylan Reid was capped for Scotland U16s in the Victory Shield last month along with his St. Mirren academy teammate Kieran Offord and the teenager has continued to make waves with his heroics across various age-group levels.
The midfielder is still very young to sign a professional contract with the Saints, meaning that he could be available for a small compensation fee in the upcoming transfer window.
Bayern Munich have set their sights on scouring the Scottish market for hidden gems in recent times, having already snapped up Scotland U17 defender Liam Morrison from Celtic this past summer.
The Bavarian giants have also been linked with Rangers academy duo Kai Kennedy and Leon King over the last few months (h/t Daily Record).
Not a lot is known about his style of play, strengths and weaknesses, given that Reid is only 14 and is yet to make the transition to the senior level. However, Saints’ Head of Youth, Allan McManus, has praised the youngster for his rapid development and hard work on the training ground (h/t Scottish Sun).
To put things into perspective, Dylan Reid ticks the boxes as an excellent long-term prospect at both the Old Firm giants but Rangers would bag a real coup if they manage to have the final say in this transfer battle.
The midfielder is still in the rudiments of his formative years as a footballer at the tender age of 16 but his links with Bayern Munich and Benfica clearly suggest that there is certainly something special about him.
Reid will need to prove his worth across various age-group levels before eventually making the transition to the senior professional game but Rangers have every reason to believe that they could possibly mould him into a top-quality player in the years to come.
The Gers have put a lot of emphasis on their youth recruitment drive under Steven Gerrard, with talented emerging prospects like Nathan Young-Coombes, Krystof Hampl and Umaro Balde all joining the club’s academy over the past 12 months.
Others like Kai Kennedy, Dapo Mebude and Nathan Patterson are continuing to strengthen their claims for a first-team role moving forward and Dylan Reid could be yet another exciting addition to the pool of existing young talent at Ibrox.
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Verdict
All in all, Rangers’ links with the 14-year-old homegrown starlet certainly makes a lot of sense and the Gers could have a real gem on their hands in the future if they manage to beat off competition in the race to sign the St. Mirren prospect.
