Rangers seal move for teenager as forward leaves to join Aston Villa

Rangers have completed the signing of sought-after teenager Zak Lovelace after Scotland youth cap Rory Wilson sealed a switch to Aston Villa.

The Ibrox side were linked with the former Millwall teenager in January following his debut for the Championship outfit at the age of just 15 – becoming the club’s second-youngest ever player.

Premier League sides Brighton and Hove Albion and Leicester City were both linked with a move for the out of contract youngster.

However, Lovelace is now expected to link up with the Rangers B team in the Lowland League ahead of the new campaign.

The club’s academy head, Craig Mulholland, said: “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.”

Meanwhile, Wilson has linked up with former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard at Villa off the back of a 49-goal season for club and country at youth level.

The 16-year-old has eight goals in 11 games for Scotland’s under-17 side and scored against England in a 2-2 draw earlier this year.

Villa academy boss Mark Harrison said: “He is a goalscorer with a lot of potential, having also represented Scotland at international youth level.

“He has a real good thirst and mentality to want to improve and we really look forward to seeing how he develops with us and hopefully, in years to come, play for our first team.”