Michael Beale has confirmed Leon King's new deal should be signed in the next couple of days as he hinted at a mystery senior player also penning fresh terms.
News broke earlier this week that the highly-regarded defender was set to sign a new long-term contract in a major boost to Rangers. He's been chucked in at the deep end this season due to the defensive injury crisis at the club and in the process picked up massive experiences against the likes of Liverpool and Napoli in the Champions League while playing consistently in the league.
The 18-year-old is a hugely important play for the future at the Light Blues and boss Beale is delighted he is set to commit himself to the club. He believes he has the potential to be a very good player both for club and country as he bids to kick on once again. Another player is set to join King in agreeing a longer stay with Rangers but the 42-year-old was more coy on revealing the identity of the individual.
READ MORE: Michael Beale delivers Rangers injury update on Goldson, Davies, Lawrence and Souttar ahead of Hibs
Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos are the two high profile names heading out of contract in the summer and have spoken with the club but no news has been confirmed either way on their positions. They are free to talk to interested teams over pre-contract deals come January 1.
Speaking in his Hibs pre-match press conference, the Rangers boss said: "There's positive signs on that (King's deal). You'll hopefully hear something on that in the next couple of days with him and another player signing a new deal.
"When you look at the squad, we have some players under 25 that are very important to the future. Leon is one of them and I am delighted. He was part of the first-team squad last time I was here but he's grown-up a lot. He's got potential to kick on and be a very good player for Rangers and the national team."
Connor Goldson is back in training as is Ben Davies while timelines have been set for the returns of Tom Lawrence and John Souttar.
Beale continued: " Both [Connor] Goldson and [Ben] Davies trained this week.
"They are not 100 per cent for the game but it is just now about getting them ready for 90 minutes. Having 5 subs allows me to help work them back into the game.
"The quicker we can get Connor (Goldson) back it will make us a stronger Rangers for sure."
Pressed if they will be in the squad, he added: "They are available for selection both of them."
On Tom Lawrence and John Souttar, he revealed:" We are looking at around mid-January for Lawrence and Souttar to be returning which is good news.
" It is important we don't push any player that is not quite ready, we want them back in a good place and give everyone an opportunity to improve."
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