Graeme Murty has revealed that he wants to see Rangers youngster Kai Kennedy’s ability to get used closer to the goal as part of the next phase of his development, but believes he is already a nightmare for full-backs.
The 17-year-old winger dazzled many with his performance in a 3-3 draw against Switzerland’s Young Boys that had many European scouts to take note of his ability on the ball.
Kennedy is a highly rated talent coming through the Rangers academy at the moment and Murty revealed his excitement about the player while talking about him.
The Rangers developmental coach highlighted the youngster’s dazzling talent on the ball, his work ethic and his willingness to push himself, which was evident from his decision to spend most of his summer break at the club.
He feels the winger’s ability for trickery and his deceptive pace makes him a difficult player to handle for any full-back.
But Murty is keen to see whether he can further push Kennedy to improve his output and use his undoubted ability and talent closer to the goal.
The Rangers youth coach told The Athletic: “He’s been outstanding the whole way through.
“He’s got a fantastic attitude.
"He didn’t get a great deal of a summer off because he spent most of it in (at the club), working hard, making sure that his fitness and his strength were up.
“He really enjoys the challenge of training with the first team, which he’s done a few times and is great for him.
“He’s got good ability, he possesses a trick, and he’s deceptively quick— even though he’s slighter than some. He can go both ways too, which is a nightmare for full-backs.
"I thought he was dominant down his side throughout the game.
“I would like the next thing for Kai to be, when we feed him the ball can we get him into more dangerous areas?
"Can we use that ability closer to goal and almost risk the ball more to get more reward?
“When he did it, I thought his weight of pass and touch was outstanding, and it’s not a surprise because we see him do it every single day.”
Kennedy has also represented Scotland in youth football and has three caps his name for the Under-19 side.
