Rangers have snapped up Cammy Cooper from Partick Thistle for an undisclosed fee as the Ibrox side announced a host of new youth signings.
The 16-year-old joined the Thistle Weir Youth Academy as a nine-year-old and progressed right through the system before spending last season turning out regularly for the Thistle Under-18s side at Firhill. His form at that level hasn't gone unnoticed with Scotland honours at Under-17 level and a goal on his debut in a European qualifier as he helped his country reach the finals tournament.
Thistle Weir Youth Academy Director, Paul McDonald told Partick Thistle's website: “Cammy leaves our Academy with the best wishes of everyone who works within the Academy. It is down to the hard work that Cammy has displayed that has given him this opportunity but it is also a day of pride for our team of coaches who have worked closely with Cammy since he joined the Academy almost ten years ago.
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“With Ben Stanway and Zander MacKenzie stepping up into the first team environment within Firhill, that is now three of our under 18s side from last year moving into professional football.
"The example of all three shows the pathway that is on offer here at Partick Thistle and we’ll continue to work hard to develop young talent that can break into Ian McCall’s first team squad.”
Cooper is one of a host of names to sign up for the Rangers Academy with Kieron Willox joining from Inverness, Paul Nsio from Lambeth Tigers, Souleyman Mandey from Pulse Academy and Mason Munn from Glentoran.
They join Kerr Robertson, Zander Hutton, Sam Kane, Jamie Newton, Leyton Grant, Findlay Curtis and Niall Rogerson who will all move into Cameron Campbell and Stevie Smith's U-18s group for the 2022/23 season having all been part of the schoolboy programme at the club.
Head of Academy, Craig Mulholland told the official Rangers website: “We would like to welcome all of the boys on the start of their exciting full-time journey here at Rangers.
"They will now enter an education programme with our U-18 group under the guidance of Cameron, Steven and a wide range of multi-disciplinary staff who will ensure a programme is delivered which will give the lads the building blocks for hopefully a long professional career.
"This year’s intake is quite different from previous years with a wider diversity to the group in terms of profile and with a greater external intake than normal we will quickly help the players understand the strong values and standards expected at Rangers.
"Our recruitment team have done a fantastic job identifying and securing new high potential talent from various locations and while we realise there is lots of work to be done, for both players and staff, we are excited to see the levels that some of these lads can reach in a few year’s time.
"We would like to thank Glentoran, Partick Thistle, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Lambeth Tigers and Pulse Academy for their professionalism while discussing the possibility of the players joining Rangers.
"We know how exciting and proud a time this is for the players and their families and our staff off the pitch will support them fully to ensure they also maximise their academic education, have strong well-being support and are housed in excellent home environments, all of which will aid their development as footballers and importantly as people.
"This year is a great example of our clear strategy of combing exciting home grown talent with external recruitment as part of our player trading model. We wish all of the boys and their families well on their journeys and all at Rangers will give them all of the help and support they require to succeed."
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