After a promising first season, youngster Glenn Middleton is reportedly set to spend the season on loan in the Netherlands.
Glenn Middleton was a significant bright spot in last season as the 18 year-old made his debut in Europa League and his pace proved to be, at times, a deadly weapon for Rangers.
This Summer Steven Gerrard spent most of his additions by trying to beef up the attack which means that Middleton found himself pushed out of line for regular playing time. This isn’t a terrible thing, even if Middleton was impressive the reality is that when a club is trying for silverware it isn’t terrible that such a young player isn’t quite ready to win minutes. And the reality that Middleton, at times, was such a breath of fresh air last season spoke just as much to how poor Rangers often were on the wing as it did to his quality.
Regardless, Rangers have been abundantly clear that they rate Middleton very highly and expect big things from him down the line, so they are certainly not going to send him away from Ibrox lightly. As such, NAC Breda seems like a decent fit.
Recently demoted to the second tier of Dutch football, NAC have enough of a need for wingers (supposedly) that Middleton should see plenty of time on the pitch in games that should carry at least some weight as the club attempt to bounce back to the top flight.
On top of that, Dutch teams and the league as a whole have a long history of being a wonderful place for younger players to develop. Making this an all-around solid place for Middleton to land for the season.
The only downside is that Middleton is good enough that even if he wasn’t going to be a regular, he likely would’ve at least gotten some playing time this season for Rangers. It’s also not always great for players to not be in top-flight football but it’s still looking like a solid spot for him.