GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst has expressed confidence that Leon King has the mentality which he needs to cope with his turbulent introduction to the Rangers first team and predicted that he is capable of playing at the very highest level in the future.
The 18-year-old centre half has had, to put it mildly, an eventful few weeks since being promoted to Van Bronckhorst’s side due to injuries and a suspension earlier this month.
He started in the Champions League group game against Liverpool at Anfield and gave away a second-half penalty which Mo Salah converted when he brought down Luis Diaz inside his own area.
He came on in the first-half of the rematch with Jurgen Klopp’s superstars at Ibrox last week when his club mate Connor Goldson suffered an injury and was helpless to prevent his side from crashing to a humiliating 7-1 loss.
Then on Sunday both Motherwell manager Stevie Hammell and winger Stuart McKinstry publicly claimed that King should have been red carded for a last man foul during a cinch Premiership match at Fir Park which Rangers won 2-1.
It would be rather a lot for an experienced player, never mind one who has been involved in fewer than 20 games of senior football in his life, to process.
Yet, Van Bronckhorst is certain that his protégé, who could start for his boyhood heroes again in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final match against Dundee at Ibrox this evening, will take it all in his stride and emerge stronger from the experiences.
“I have no concerns,” he said. “I think he was the first player I took into the team last season. That is why we built the squad for this season – to give him more game time. Now he is getting a lot of game time.
“He is getting better and better and his development is going faster because he is playing against (Roberto) Firminio and (Darwin) Nunez and he is playing in the league. That is very positive for him. I am really confident in his performances.
“The criticism and people saying he should have been sent off? He is quite relaxed. He is stubborn and focused as well. For me, it (his challenge on McKinstry) was never a sending off.
“He still needs to improve. That is why we are continuously talking to him, with training, with footage, to make him better, to develop him as a player. He is still only 18, he is very young. But he plays very mature.”
King’s emergence has led to him being linked with moves to Premier League clubs in England – including Manchester United – and former Arsenal player Van Bronckhorst certainly feels he can go far in the game if he continues to develop.
“He has all the time to do that,” he said. “The first thing is to have players who want to improve every session, every day to become better. He is only 18 so every time he does that he will improve. His ceiling will be very high because of his own character and his own motivation.
“On the ball, he sees solutions. He is right-footed but he can play really well with his left as well. And he is a good defender. He can defend, he can build up, he can pass, he is strong in his duels. He is quite complete as a player. That’s why we play him.”
King was unable to prevent Liverpool running riot in their Group A game in Govan last week and inflicting a record European defeat on Rangers. But Van Bronckhorst feels he will only benefit in the long-term from squaring up to Diaz, Firminio, Nunez, Salah and Diogo Jota.
“It’s not easy to come in in a game like that,” he said. “Of course, he started the week before when we played with five at the back and the spaces were a bit smaller. He was closer to the other defenders. It was much more difficult on Wednesday.
“But he will only learn from these games. He is strong. Of course you help him after the game with things he could do better, things he did well. That’s the process I like as a manager, to have contact with your players, to make them better individually.”
Rangers take on section leaders Napoli in Italy next week and Van Bronckhorst is optimistic his entire side, not just King, will be better placed to deal with facing the Serie A outfit as a result of their Champions League outings so far.
“For us it’s much easier to be in the Europa League,” he said. “You see the difference in level. We wouldn’t have the results we have now. Bu if you are in Champions League pot four you know you’re going to play against really tough opposition.
“Look at all the big teams. They are still struggling to qualify for the next round. They are teams who have played in the Champions League for many years. We have to make sure we learn and I think we are improving.
“The easiest thing for us is just to be in the Europa League or Conference League, because the opposition is less than we face now, but that’s not what you want as a top player or manager who wants to compete with the best.
“We played better at home against Liverpool than away. But still the result was much higher because in the last 20 to 25 minutes, we just dropped our levels. Then a team like Liverpool, with the players they brought in, they just kill you.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst fully expects that in the case of Leon King the old adage “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” will apply.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was promoting Premier Sports live and exclusive coverage of Rangers v Dundee tonight from 8.15pm. Premier Sports is available from £9.99 per month and is available on the following platforms – Sky, Virgin, Amazon Prime and the Premier Player.
