Glasgow Rangers brought in Nils Koppen as their head of recruitment ahead of the January transfer window to finally replace Ross Wilson, who left his post as sporting director in April 2023.
The former Light Blues chief left to join Premier League side Nottingham Forest after mixed success throughout his time running the football operations at the club.
He made some fantastic signings, including the likes of John Lundstram and Calvin Bassey, but also had his fair share of failures, including Aaron Ramsey and Cedric Itten.
One signing he made for the future that now looks to be emerging as another success was the addition of Zak Lovelace from Millwall in the summer of 2022, as his value has soared.
How much Rangers paid for Zak Lovelace
The Athletic reported that the Gers agreed a compensation of around £100k to bring the talented teenage marksman to Ibrox, after he had made five Championship appearances for the Lions.
Then-sporting director Wilson described the young gem as an "exciting" talent and his electric performances for Rangers B show that the now-Forest chief was right to be excited.
Lovelace has racked up a staggering 17 goals and six assists in 32 B team outings for the club, along with two goals and four assists in six matches in the UEFA Youth League.
He is a bigger talent at the top end of the pitch than current first-team star Ross McCausland, as he outperformed the Northern Ireland international in the academy set up.
The 20-year-old winger produced 14 goals and five assists in 50 matches for the club at B team level and in the Youth League combined before his first-team breakthrough, which is a return of one goal contribution every 2.6 games on average.
Whereas, Lovelace racked up 19 goals and ten assists in 38 clashes, which is a return of one goal or assist every 1.31 outings on average for the academy.
Zak Lovelace's current market value
At the time of writing (17/03/2024), Transfermarkt values Lovelace at £428k (€500k) and this means that his value has soared by 328% from the £100k that they reportedly paid Millwall to sign him almost two years ago.
Rangers and Wilson, therefore, struck gold with the signing of the teenage dynamo as he has been an outstanding performer at youth level, and his value has skyrocketed as a result.
Unfortunately, he has missed over 100 days with a hamstring injury this season, having suffered the blow on his full first-team debut as Steven Davis handed him a start on the right wing against St Mirren.
The 18-year-old speedster produced a dangerous cross that forced Ryan Strain to commit handball, give away a penalty, and get sent off, which allowed James Tavernier to make it 1-0 from the spot.
Lovelace then pulled up with a hamstring issue before the break – replaced by McCausland – and has not been seen in a Gers shirt since.
Appearances
22
Goals
1
Assists
2
Big chances created
2
Penalties won
1
As you can see in the table above, the Northern Irish youngster has not provided consistent quality in the final third and his former B team teammate could eventually offer more, given the gulf in their respective outputs in the academy.
Lovelace could make a greater impact at the top end of the pitch with his superior quality as a scorer and a creator of goals, but it is now down to him to get fit and then prove it on the field for the first-team.
Overall, though, Rangers have struck gold with the 18-year-old starlet, who appears to be a great prospect given his rising value and excellent output in front of goal, and, hopefully, he will go on to enjoy a successful career in Scotland.