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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Mark Walker

Scots wonderkid Wilson confirms Rangers exit as Villa favourites to sign 49-goal striker

Scots wonderkid Wilson confirms Rangers exit as Villa favourites to sign 49-goal striker

RANGERS' teen goal sensation Rory Wilson has revealed he's left Ibrox and is heading to England, with Aston Villa leading the way to land the 49-goal striker.

The Scotland Under 17s forward scored in the Euro Finals in Israel this week against Denmark and fell just one goal short of hitting his half-century of goals after banging them in for Rangers' youth teams this season.

The 16-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Villa, managed by former Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard.

And Wilson has now confirmed he is leaving Rangers to try his luck down south.

He said: "Rangers have been brilliant for me. There's no getting away from that.

"But it's time to move on and get to the next level.

"I'd like to thank Rangers for everything they have done for me because it's been great for me over the last eight years, but it's time to leave.

"I'll probably be going down south.

"We'll wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks. Everything will be sorted very soon.

"At Rangers, all the coaches have been fantastic for me. I can't thank them enough for all their help.

"I want to go down south and try and prove myself and become a top player and that's what I am going to do."

Wilson started all three games as Brian McLaughlin's side went out of the tournament after three defeats to Portugal, Denmark and Sweden.

McLaughlin labelled him as 'one of the best young strikers in Europe' before the tournament and he certainly did his reputation no harm.

And Wilson, who has now scored seven goals for Scotland Under 17s in nine appearances, insisted he loved playing in the European Championships.

He said: "The tournament was a great experience for me. Obviously, we didn't get the results we wanted, but to play against some of the best young players in Europe was great for me.

"I'll take a lot from it.

"The goal I scored against Denmark was my 49th of the season and I would have loved to have scored my 50th against Sweden, but it just wasn't to be.

"I'll have a break and get ready for next season now.

"I've really enjoyed my season. I've loved playing every minute of it. The season was great for me personally and to score that amount of goals was an extra bonus for me.

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