Rangers have paid £250,000 for Tom Weston, according to The Blackpool Gazette.

The Ibrox club have signed Weston, according to a statement on Blackpool’s official website.

The 16-year-old forward was offered a three-year contract by the Seasiders, but the teenager turned it down and has decided to move to Rangers.

However, the League One club have been paid £250,000 for the youngster, according to The Blackpool Gazette, and Blackpool have also announced on their official website that the club have retaining a financial interest in the teenager’s long-term future.

Blackpool Chief Executive Officer Ben Mansford told the club’s official website: “It is always disappointing to lose a young player, particularly one who is as talented as Tony and has been with the Club for so long.

“The FIFA regulations offer the Club very little protection against clubs from other nations targeting our talent when they turn 16 years of age. Notwithstanding the amount of time and effort that the Club had spent developing Tony since the age of 9, we had no ability to ensure Tony remained with us.”

One for the future

Weston is very highly rated and has a lot of potential, but the teenager is certainly a player for the future.

One suspects that the 16-year-old forward will go into the Rangers youth set-up for now.

Perhaps in the next two or three years, he will get the chance to turn out for the Gers’ first team, if he does well and continues to improve.

Rangers will be aiming to stop bitter Old Firm rivals Celtic from winning the Scottish Premiership title for the 10th season in a row in 2020-21.

Steven Gerrard’s side will kick off their campaign with an away game against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon.