FRASER Aird wouldn't just lose a valued team-mate if Lewis Macleod is snapped up by one of the vultures from south of the border hovering next month.

He would also find himself on the lookout for a new flatmate.

The two most successful products of the Murray Park youth ranks in recent times share an apartment in the West End of Glasgow and the tenancy arrangement alone gives Aird more reason than most to hope Macleod can be persuaded to resist the grasp of reported suitors such as Blackburn Rovers, at least until Rangers have completed their journey back through the divisions.

"Lewis and I share a flat so I hope he's not leaving any time soon," said the 19-year-old from Toronto. "We get on very well on and off the pitch and we are best friends. He has been doing brilliantly and I think he deserves all the attention he has been getting.

"Obviously there are clubs watching him, but hopefully he'll stay with us. It would be great if we could go through all the divisions together, as that's something that probably won't happen at Rangers again. The prospect of that might sway Lewis to stay - he is a Rangers fan and obviously he'll want to stay here for as long as he can, if the circumstances are right. But you never know what's going to happen in football."

Aged just 20, and recently called up to the Scotland squad for the first time, Macleod has a host of things to weigh up as the transfer window approaches. Not least of these is the ongoing financial uncertainty at Rangers. While he shows little signs of being affected by all the transfer hype, Aird feels it may only be a matter of time until he proves his worth on a bigger stage.

"I don't think it is really his position right now to decide everything," said Aird, who first became acquainted by Macleod in the Rangers Under-17 team when he moved from Canada aged just 16. "I think he lets his agent and all the clubs discuss that sort of thing, he just gets on with doing his stuff as he has done the last couple of years. That is just the kind of person he is - he is very low key and doesn't let anything affect him. He lets his football do the talking.

"But even if it is not here he has everything in his game to go on and do really well somewhere else. He is a brilliant player, talented, eager to play football, a guy who can score goals from midfield. That is a part of his game he has improved greatly this year. And hye likes an overhead kick once in a while."

So, while Macleod is unquestionably a tidy player on the field, is he as tidy off the field? "I wouldn't want to give away all of the secrets," said Aird, "but he's alright. I do most of the cooking and the cleaning, although he does chip in with the odd big meal.

"There are always epic Fifa battles on the PlayStation, especially the night before a game. We play for a few hours at a time, to decide who's going to make the dinner. That's how it works."

The subject of youth players coming through the ranks at Rangers is nothing if not topical, considering the simmering row between the Ibrox club and Dundee United over the £170,000 compensation (plus VAT) which United were ordered to pay this week for the services of another former Murray Park youngster, Charlie Telfer.

Aird sits on the fence when it comes to assessing whether Telfer would have seen first-team football had he stayed at Ibrox, but he rates his former colleague highly.

"That is how football goes," said Aird. "If it is not working here you have to go somewhere else - you want to get away, get involved with a first-team squad and play at first team level. Charlie has obviously gone away and done that. He is another brilliant player, and a good lad off the park too.

"It is hard to say yes or no as to whether he would have been given his chance, as there are so many good midfielders at the club, like Lewis, Blacky [Ian Black], Nicky Law, Dean Shiels. Obviously he has gone away now and got his first couple of starts with Dundee United. He is obviously enjoying it so I wish him all the best."