Names like Alfie Hutchison and Alexander Smith might mean little to Rangers fans right now.
But if things go to plan over the next few seasons they will be names which become synonymous with a brave new direction taken at Ibrox.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has been clear that youth must get a chance if the Gers are to develop the best young talent coming out of Scotland.
After immersing Ross McCausland in the first-team, the likes of Robbie Fraser and Cole McKinnon have taken tentative steps towards the Rangers squad.
And now the club are closing in on two deals which signify that at some level, Rangers are managing to convince the nation’s top young talent of opportunities in Glasgow.
Rangers to sign Hearts youngster
Rangers look set to hold off Premier League competition to sign Hearts academy talent Alfie Hutchison.
If the Gers can strike a deal for the 15-year-old – who is all set to sign his first professional contract this year – the Jambos will be due compensation.
According to the Hearts Standard, Hutchison is a highly-rated young Scotland youth forward who is interesting sides from England’s glamorous top flight.
The news comes after Rangers reportedly beat off the likes of Arsenal to secure a deal for Hutchison’s fellow teenage Scotland talent Alexander Smith.
Smith, who is also set to sign his first professional contract, is another youngster who appears to have bucked the trend of choosing the Premier League over Scottish football.
Fabrizio Romano claims Philippe Clement was key to a deal being struck.
The moves come after Philippe Clement said the following about Rangers needing to bleed more youngsters back on the 14th of May.
“The club needs for the future to get also money in by producing or making players better, to get young players in and to make them better that you can sell them later on,” said Clement.
“But also for sure out of Academy, getting players and producing players that can be starters in the first team.
“That needs to be a model that we will build the next couple of years. It’s not the work of one week or two weeks or six months or even one year or two years.
“It’s an important thing and in that way it was important that we gave chances from the beginning to Ross (McCausland) so he could be also a symbol for the Academy.”
Gers flip switch on Premier League poachers
Rangers and the rest of Scottish football are well-used to English clubs poaching the best young talent from north of the border.
Rangers have lost Billy Gilmour (Chelsea) and Rory Wilson (Aston Villa) in recent seasons, whilst Celtic kid Ben Doak (Liverpool) has just made the provisional Euros squad.
The finances involved in Premier League academies far outweighs what either of the Old Firm can pay and Rangers fans had been gearing up for more of these big losses in the seasons to come.
But the prospective signings of Alexander Smith and Alfie Hutchison point to a change of direction which has managed to convince the families and the players themselves.
With Clement adamant youth must be given an earlier chance in Scotland – and the Belgian having a track record in his home country of bleeding teenagers – it points to a pathway which has been clearly outlined by the Rangers hierarchy.
Where these kids choose to sign their first professional deals will have a huge impact on their future in football.
The academies south of the border are increasingly competitive and for all the opportunity, it’s not a perfect scenario.
Youngsters can wait a lifetime for an opportunity, being farmed out on a series of loan moves and being hoarded at clubs like tradable cattle.
At Rangers, it’s clear that a pathway to the first XI is open and has widened under the remit of Philippe Clement.
If we are going to go on and sign these kids, then we suspect it’s with the promise that it won’t be too long before they get a taste of the first-team.
