Man Utd, Leeds look at rising defender after Champions League breakthrough, Fabrizio Romano confirms

Manchester United are among the Premier League clubs who have decided to keep tabs on Rangers prospect Leon King, Fabrizio Romano has reported.

King is an 18-year-old centre-back who is becoming more prominent in the Rangers first team this season. Although his gametime is still largely coming from substitute appearances, he has made nine appearances in all competitions for them so far in 2022-23.

Featuring in each of their first three matches in the Champions League group stage, he made his first start in Europe’s top competition last week. However, Rangers lost 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.

Despite being on the receiving end of some negative scorelines so far – Rangers have not kept a clean sheet in any of the three games he has started this term – King has been catching the attention of a few clubs south of the border.

Indeed, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that Manchester United have been watching him. The Premier League side have sent scouts to monitor the teenager’s performances and development.

However, Manchester United are not alone in their interest. According to Romano, both Leeds United and Newcastle United are scouting King as well. In fact, the Italian journalist says “many clubs” are monitoring him, so there could yet be even more suitors.

Rangers only have King under contract until 2024. He has made 17 appearances for their first team across his career so far after coming through their academy ranks.

Still only 18 years old, he has come into contention for the Scotland under-21 national team. Therefore, he is clearly progressing well, which has generated interest from elsewhere.

Manchester United and Newcastle are already long-term admirers. They were linked with King in a report from last November – and he has done his chances of impressing them no harm since.

Leon King must choose carefully if he leaves Rangers

When choosing his next club, if the time comes to leave Rangers, King would have to ensure his development would be able to continue at a positive rate.

He would be unlikely to be a regular starter for a club as big as Manchester United. However, the Red Devils do reportedly have plans to invest in their defence with an eye to the future.

Meanwhile, Newcastle and Leeds do not yet have European football on offer, unlike current Europa League contenders Manchester United. Both clubs are trying to build projects for the future.

In particular, Newcastle’s significant financial power is enabling them to construct a competitive squad. But they are also keeping a keen eye on talents for the long term to ensure their sustainability.

For now, King must focus on continuing his development with Rangers. Giovanni van Bronckhorst is starting to give him opportunities and he must make the most of them.

In the future, though, perhaps he could establish himself as someone capable of earning a transfer to a bigger league.

It remains to be seen if King will feature in the return fixture between Rangers and Liverpool in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday night. If he does, it could be another opportunity to impress.

But it seems his several suitors will be using any opportunity they can get to gather more information about his abilities. He will have to maintain good performance levels to make a decent impression on them.

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