RANGERS SET TO PULL OFF SURPRISE CONTRACT EXTENSION AS BAILEY RICE ‘REJECTS’ LEEDS UNITED INTEREST
A few weeks ago, it looked like Rangers were about to lose one of their brightest young prospects for nothing. Now, they’re keeping him — and it’s a result nobody saw coming.
Bailey Rice has agreed fresh terms with Rangers, with the 19-year-old set to put pen to paper later this week. It’s a twist in a transfer saga that had been gathering speed, and one that will come as a real blow to the Premier League clubs who thought they were in pole position to land him.
Leeds United had been keeping close tabs on Rice through former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown, with Daniel Farke reportedly keen to add more youth to his squad ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season. Nottingham Forest and newly relegated West Ham were also monitoring the situation, while Dutch giants Ajax and German side Schalke had gone as far as lodging formal interest with the player’s representatives.
For a 19-year-old with roughly 16 senior appearances to his name, that’s a serious queue of suitors. And for a while, it looked like Rice was heading out the door.
His contract was due to expire at the end of the month, and with talks failing to progress, Rangers had reportedly reached the point where they were prepared to pull the plug entirely and let him walk away on a free transfer. The writing, it seemed, was on the wall.
But Rangers kept pushing. Outgoing manager Danny Rohl played a key role in convincing Rice to stay, with the player persuaded to commit his future during talks before Rohl’s confirmed departure to RB Salzburg. What makes the story even more interesting is that the impending arrival of Derek McInnes as Rohl’s replacement didn’t change Rice’s thinking at all. Once he made his decision, he stuck to it.
Rice originally joined Rangers from Motherwell’s youth academy and has represented Scotland from under-16 through to under-21 level. He made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old, becoming one of the youngest players in the club’s post-war history. Among his career highlights was coming off the bench during Rangers’ Europa League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford — a stage most teenagers can only dream of.
His development has been frustratingly disrupted by injuries, but the talent has never been in question. Rangers are keen to provide a clear development pathway for the midfielder, with a loan move, potentially to Kilmarnock, being considered to give him the consistent first-team minutes he needs.
For Leeds, it’s a miss. For Rangers, it’s exactly the kind of smart business they needed to do this summer — keeping a homegrown talent with genuine upside tied down before the window chaos fully kicks off.
Rice chose Ibrox over the Premier League. Now he has to prove it was the right call.
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