Rangers: Stephen Kelly backed for loan switch | OneFootball

Rangers’ rarely-seen midfielder Stephen Kelly has been backed for a loan move away from the club during the current January transfer window by former Ibrox striker Kenny Miller.

Speaking recently to Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard (via The Scottish Sun), the 42-year-old had this to say about the possibility of the club loaning Kelly out this month:

“There’s been a number of clubs mentioned with Stephen over the last two or three days and I’m sure he’ll end up somewhere playing in the first team. I think Kilmarnock is a big club with title aspirations so it would be a good fit for both parties.”

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As a product of Rangers’ youth system, Kelly has had two previous loan spells away from the club, firstly with Ayr United in 2019 and then with Ross County the following year.

With just three senior appearances for the Gers so far across all competitions, it doesn’t seem likely that Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be giving the 21-year-old regular playing time throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Taking this into account, it seems that a loan move away from the club this month could be very beneficial for Kelly and his career development.

With six goals and four assists in 33 appearances with Ayr, followed by three assists in 29 appearances for Ross County, he has shown that he is capable of playing regularly at a decent level.

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Labelled a “magnificent” player during his time in Dingwall by John Hughes, who then went on to describe Kelly as a “manager’s dream”, the midfielder certainly seems to have what it takes to succeed away from Rangers on loan, before potentially coming back and staking a claim to be in Van Bronckhorst’s side for the foreseeable future.

If he can do just that, he then has the potential to save the club millions in future transfer fees should the Gers see any of their current midfielders such as Glen Kamara or Joe Aribo, both of whom have been linked with a move to Aston Villa recently, leave Ibrox. Should that happen, it might just pave the way for Kelly to finally take his place in the Light Blues’ first team.