Ibrox View: Rohl won't be disappointed as 1-match Rangers misfit nears summer exit

This is not how Bailey Rice would have expected his Rangers career to pan out.

It was only last May that he had declared it was his “dream” to play for the Glasgow club. Instead, 12 months on, he is set to walk away from Ibrox after a miserable campaign.

“You don’t want to just be a squad player or a bench player, you want to be playing for this club which I’ve supported for my whole life,” he told reporters. “It’s a dream every time I play and hopefully I can take that into next season and see where it goes.”

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Ajax and Schalke are poised to swoop for the 19-year-old midfielder this summer. His contract will run down at the end of the season and he is now expected to look for a new challenge after his woes under Danny Rohl.

Rangers will not want to lose Rice for nothing, but that is the reality they will now likely have to confront, despite the youngster’s impressive reputation and ability.

Why is Bailey Rice set to leave Rangers?

The big question is how we arrived at this point in the first place.

It should be said that Rice has hardly covered himself in glory, having not impressed multiple managers during his stint in Govan. But the club will also have to accept a significant portion of the blame, with the player’s route to regular football muddled from the get-go.

This term, Rice has been unable to play his way into Rohl’s plans after sustaining a knee problem, which has restricted him to just one appearance. He started the League Cup victory against Alloa back in August, but was replaced late in the first half due to an injury.

As per journalist Romano, Schalke have already tabled initial personal terms in their bid to get ahead of the competition. Rice, it is said, is open to leaving Scotland once his Rangers deal is up, four years after joining the club from Motherwell as an ambitious teenager.

He had been watched by several elite clubs before settling on Ibrox, and was soon rewarded for his decision. Rice’s first-team debut came in February 2023, aged just 16, after he came on against Livingston and became the club’s second-youngest post-war player.

Aston Villa have also been linked, but Rice is expected to attract plenty more suitors once it is officially confirmed that he will not be staying at Rangers.

The talent has made just 16 appearances for the Gers, 12 of which came last season before he was waylaid by his knee blow. While he is expected to return from injury imminently, he is unlikely to play a part in the title run-in under Rohl after seemingly deciding to move on.

Rohl would understandably prefer to watch him in action before assessing his future, but the player looks to have effectively wrestled the decision away from him.

The lack of joined-up thinking at Rangers since Rice’s arrival put up several stumbling blocks as he looked to progress from the academy into the first-team.

After playing the closing stages of the 1-0 Europa League win over Real Betis in September 2023, he signed a long-term deal that same month. But he was made to wait until the victory against Nice in November 2024 to feature again in the same competition.

Once his injury nightmare set in, there was no way back for him. Rice made his debut under Michael Beale and also played for Philippe Clement, Barry Ferguson and Russell Martin, but is not believed to have done enough to adequately impress any of them.

Speaking weeks before his sacking in February 2025, Clement said of the youngster: “He was a good player on the ball last year when I came in but, off the ball, he was non-existent for me.” It is clear, then, that it hasn’t worked out for Rice at Rangers.

A mutual parting of the ways at the end of the season looks the best course of action.

Rice wanted by host of elite clubs

There will be no shortage of interest in the midfielder.

According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City and Brighton were previously keen on him. It would be no surprise if both clubs returned for a bargain swoop in the summer.

Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Brom and Cardiff all made checks on Rice in December, aware he is set to become a free agent, and the ace can now hold transfer talks with clubs.

Rangers’ loss may be their gain, but, curiously, the Glasgow giants may not be too saddened to see him leave, such is the level of disappointment at his failure to blossom.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.