Rangers have confirmed the departure of a goalkeeper on a season-long loan deal.
Northern Irish stopper Mason Munn has left the club on a temporary move to William Hill Championship side Dunfermline Athletic.
The 19-year-old will join up with Neil Lennon’s Pars for the season as they aim to return to the top flight for the first time since 2012.
Munn made his Rangers debut last season, featuring in the club’s 5–0 Scottish Cup win over Highland League side Fraserburgh at Ibrox.
With three senior goalkeepers already at the club, Jack Butland, Liam Kelly, and Kieran Wright, it has been decided that the best move for Munn is to gain regular, competitive first-team experience.
Manager Russell Martin is also reportedly looking to strengthen his goalkeeping options, having previously pursued Brighton stopper Carl Rushworth earlier in the window.
Munn joins teenager Alfie Halliwell out on loan, with the young keeper also departing for a spell at Lowland League side Albion Rovers.
Despite his youth, Munn is highly regarded at the club’s training centre and is seen as a future number one for Rangers.
He follows in the footsteps of one of the club’s greatest ever goalkeepers, Allan McGregor, who spent the 2005/06 season on loan at East End Park himself.
McGregor joined the Pars, then a Scottish Premier League side, on loan after a successful first half of the previous season with St Johnstone in the second tier.
Under Jim Leishman at Dunfermline, McGregor starred, making 29 appearances and keeping seven clean sheets.
He helped the side reach the Scottish League Cup final and produced a standout performance in the Pars’ 1–0 win at Celtic Park in November 2005.
McGregor returned to Ibrox in the summer of 2006, eventually claiming the number one spot ahead of Stefan Klos and Lionel Letizi.
He went on to make 500 appearances across two spells with the club, recording 222 clean sheets and lifting 13 trophies.
Speaking to The Courier about Munn’s arrival, his new manager Neil Lennon said:
“He’s very good, he’s got good size and he’s a good shot-stopper. He is very talented, and he needs to play.
“Similar to Tobi [Oluwayemi] last season, It’s a young, quality goalkeeper coming in.
“I like his size. We’ve worked with big goalkeepers before and sometimes they make saves other goalkeepers can’t make.
We’re pleased to have him, and I think he’s pleased to be here. Hopefully, it’s a marriage of convenience for both.”
Munn goes into the Dunfermline squad that travels to Greenock to face Morton, where former Ranger Billy Davies is now on the coaching team, in their league opener next Saturday.