RANGERS starlet Alex Lowry has been backed to step into the role of Joe Aribo at Ibrox as the midfielder heads for Southampton.
Aribo, 25, is set to head for the Premier League in a deal worth up to £10million which includes a sell-on clause.
However, Lowry has been tipped to excel and stake a claim to replace Aribo from within Ibrox.
The talented 18-year-old broke into the first-team last season making a goalscoring debut in the Scottish Cup.
He was then handed a contract extension to 2025 as he worked with both the first-team and B team in the season past.
Now, Kevin Thomson reckons the Scotland youth international can stake a claim to become a major player for Rangers.
He told the Daily Record: “There’s no doubt in mind that he has all the tools to nail down a regular first-team place. He has everything in his locker to be a top player.
"People talk about getting chances and opportunities to train with the first team but I think pre-season, in the modern day game, is a real chance to lay down that marker.
“It’s about putting yourself in front of the manager’s nose and showing him how you live your life, how you conduct yourself in the team hotel at dinner, lunch and breakfast.
"It’s a chance to cement your position in his thoughts and I’d be really surprised if Alex isn’t doing exactly that right now in Portugal.”
“He’s a big talent. He’s probably got the most scope I’ve ever seen in a kid, brain-wise. His football brain is exceptional.
"He might not have Aribo’s physique but he can run when he wants to run and his game awareness and technical ability is top of the tree.
"His decision-making has also improved with maturity and when he’s had opportunities in the first team he’s taken them every single time.”
While Thomson is disappointed to see Aribo preparing to depart Ibrox, he insists it's been good business from Rangers to strike a major profit on the midfielder.
He added: “Joe has been a brilliant player and a great servant to the club but he’s only got a year to go on his contract so there was always going to have to be a difficult decision to make.
"But when you consider they picked him up for three hundred grand a return of £10m has to go down as good business, even though I think he’s potentially worth a wee bit more on that in the open market.
“Look, it’s not going to be easy to replace a guy like that – I think he played more games last season than any other player in world football – so he’s obviously a very important player for the team. He’s also a great lad. I know him from my time working in there and he’s a really humble boy with a great attitude."
