RANGERS have announced the signing of wonderkid Zak Lovelace from Millwall.
The striker, 16, played made his professional debut last season as he became the second-youngest player to play for Millwall.
Lovelace played four times in total for the club in a breakout year before now making the switch to Rangers.
The signing was announced by the Rangers academy official social media accounts with the teenager expected to link up with the B Team for the upcoming season.
It's unclear how long-term a contract Lovelace has signed with the club.
Sporting director Ross Wilson told the club website: “We are delighted to welcome Zak to Rangers. He is an exciting young player and one we are sure will progress here.
“He has developed really well with the staff at Millwall and we can see lots of potential in him.
“A key part of our scouting strategy has been to identify and invest in talent to strengthen our pipeline and the strategy is working successfully for us with Calvin Bassey and Charlie McCann being examples of that.
“Our scouts are doing a great job and are working on a number of emerging talents this summer with Lancelot Pollard also recently joining from Aberdeen.”
And head of academy Craig Mulholland added: “Our Academy strategy will see us develop local home grown talent that have been with us from a young age, like Nathan Patterson, Leon King and Alex Lowry however importantly, we will augment these exciting prospects with high-potential recruited players ensuring we a have a strong pipeline of talent to challenge for the first team.
"Player trading at Academy level, as we have seen this summer, is now becoming a normal part of most major clubs' strategic plans.
"We have been active as a club in this area over the past couple of years as part of our own plan and we see talented players developing well in our ranks and we are sure that Zak will follow that positive path.
“Zak is a very exciting and quick forward player who our recruitment team, headed by David Stevenson, have been tracking for some time.
"We are very much looking forward to working with him and seeing his accelerated development over the coming months and years in the excellent environment we now have at Rangers.
"Zak will be well supported by his dad Devon and his strong family unit and we can’t wait to see what level he can reach.”
On the move, a Millwall club statement read: "Millwall Football Club regretfully announces that Zak Lovelace has decided to leave The Lions and join Scottish club Rangers.
"The Academy graduate made his senior debut for Millwall in December 2021 aged just 15, becoming the second-youngest player ever to represent the club. Lovelace made a further three appearances for Gary Rowett’s side during the second-half of the 2021/22 season, and was set to feature even more prominently during the upcoming campaign.
"The club is disappointed and saddened by this outcome having worked tirelessly over many months to convince Lovelace, his family, and his representatives that Millwall remained the ideal destination for the striker to continue his personal and professional development.
"Despite these frustrations, everyone at Millwall wishes Lovelace the best of luck in his future career and hopes that he goes on to realise his outstanding potential."
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