Zak Rudden has opened up about his exit from Glasgow Rangers, with the 19-year-old revealing that he felt that the time was right to leave the Gers but hopes to one day return to his boyhood club.
The youngster left the Ibrox club having failed to register a single competitive appearance for the Light Blues.
The former Rangers man does however have some experience at the highest level after having spent time on loan with Falkirk and Plymouth Argyle.
Rudden was unlikely to get game time this season with Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos well above him in Steven Gerrard’s Gers pecking order.
With Rangers challenging for the Scottish Premier League title this season, Gerrard is also likely to not really give many opportunities to fringe players who lack experience.
Rudden does leave the club after having shown plenty of potential which was seen during his loan spells with Plymouth and Falkirk.
In addition to this, he also boasts an impressive record for the Scotland U-19 team as he has scored six goals for them from 13 appearances.
It is not surprising that Rangers have inserted a clause in the deal which will allow them to buy-back Rudden after 18 months if they want to.
This may become handy considering that Morelos is likely to leave the club in the near future.
The Colombian has been prolific in Scotland for the past two seasons and this is surely something which would have attracted interest from club’s across Europe’s top five leagues.
“I’m delighted they’ve got that clause there if they see me doing well but my main focus right now is Partick Thistle,” Rudden said as quoted by The Daily Record.
“Is it hard to leave Rangers? Of course it is. After almost 10 years at the club it’s a weird one to be leaving but I realised my dream of making it to the first team might never be realised when I kept getting put out on loan.
“They were ready to put me out on another loan this month but I thought it might be better just to go out and feel comfortable somewhere. It was time to go.
“But maybe three or four years down the line I would hope to be back at Rangers.
“I do want to play for them because they are a massive club. Steven Gerrard did call me after the deal went through to say all the best which was very nice of him.
