Why Rangers should offer trialist Cameron Gascoigne a deal

According to The Scottish Sun, Rangers have taken 18-year-old starlet Cameron Gascoigne on trial following his release from Newcastle United. 

Cameron, who is the nephew of England and Rangers legend Paul Gascoigne, is set to travel to the Gers’ Auchenhowie training base where senior manager Steven Gerrard and the youth staff will run the rule over him and decide on offering him a contract. (h/t Scottish Sun) 

The highly-rated teenager is also on the radar of several English clubs but with Rangers prepared to offer him the chance to impress and earn a new deal, the free-agent might as well be tempted to follow in the footsteps of his famous uncle by opting to further his development north of the border at Ibrox. (h/t Scottish Sun)

Cameron Gascoigne was signed by Newcastle back in 2009 after scoring 22 goals in a 30-minute junior match but he eventually failed to make the grade at St. James’ Park. However, he continues to be regarded as a bright emerging prospect with a lot potential and Rangers are apparently aware of that. 

The 18-year-old is still very much in the formative years of his career and given that he never made it to the senior ranks at Newcastle, the Gers are expected to look at him as one for the future. 

Gascoigne is probably going to link up initially with Rangers’ U-18 squad and then it will be up to him to progress through the ranks eventually if they do go on to offer the youngster a new lease of life to further his development. 

The process of transition from the youth ranks to senior men’s football is a lengthy one and the teenager will need to prove his worth at various age-group levels and gain some first-team exposure elsewhere before staking a claim for a call-up to Gerrard’s side. 

Gerrard brought in as many as ten new players this summer in a bid to bolster the first-team but Rangers have also put a lot of emphasis on their youth recruitment drive over the past twelve months. 

Highly-rated teenagers like Nathan Young-Coombes, Kane Ritchie-Hosler and Umaro Balde have joined the youth setup up from Chelsea, Man City and Sporting Lisbon respectively in the recent past, while the Gers also grabbed the headlines with a move for emerging Czech prospect Krystof Hampl a few days back.   

To put things into perspective, Rangers seem to be constantly on the lookout for bright young talent in a bid to supplement their academy with some top-quality prospects and Cameron Gascoigne certainly fits the bill in that regard.

The 18-year-old seems to be a player with a big future and his availability on a free transfer should make it a no-brainer for the Gers to offer him a deal provided he manages to prove his fitness and work ethic on the training ground. 

• More Rangers News
• Why Rangers should strike a permanent deal for Jermain Defoe
• Why Krystof Hampl could be a future gem at Rangers
• Why Rangers should try to beat Celtic in the race for Lawrence Shankland

In Dapo Mebude, Zak Rudden and Young-Coombes, Rangers already have a host of talented young strikers in their youth ranks and Gascoigne would be yet another fine addition to increase competition for places. 

All in all, Cameron Gascoigne has the potential to evolve into a future star and it would be a remarkable story for Rangers and the Gascoigne family if the teenager follows in the footsteps of his uncle and earns a deal at Ibrox.