Rangers kid Kai Kennedy has put pen to paper on a new deal at Ibrox.

The youngster's future had been up in the air after he headed out to Inverness on loan near the tail end of last year.

He had not signed a new deal and rumours were flying that he had been holding out for a move elsewhere. Now, though, speculation has been quashed with the news that Kennedy will remain at the club until 2023.

He will spend the remainder of this season at Stark's Park.

Sporting director Ross Wilson told the club website: "Firstly, I am pleased that we have confirmed Kai’s future with Rangers. There has been a lot written about Kai, much of it creating an unfair narrative around him.

“I have been really clear that with respect to our young players’ contracts we will reward talent and provide opportunities, but such rewards at Rangers must be earned and achieved. We felt that Kai received questionable advice previously and halted our discussions.

“Kai, with the support of his family, acknowledged he had listened to wrong advice, and Steven [Gerrard] and I admired his reflection, humility and maturity.

“Kai consistently stated during all of our conversations that his ultimate ambition is to be a successful Rangers player and we are pleased we have a clear plan that allows him to move towards achieving the ambition he has held since joining our Academy as a young lad.

“He has progressed beyond our B Team and he needs to develop and influence strongly at first-team level now. We were pleased with his performances at Inverness and thank John Robertson for his work with Kai.

“For personal reasons, Kai wanted to be closer to his family during Covid times and we look forward to monitoring his contribution to Raith Rovers in their pursuit of promotion.”