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Where will Billy King fit into Rangers' first team?

Rangers look set to complete the signing of Billy King on loan from Hearts, but where will he fit into the starting eleven?

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

Billy King will sign for Rangers on loan from Hearts, in a triumph of nominative determinism, but after the euphoria has died down, we might consider where he's going to play.

A versatile player who can play across the front three (spot the pattern emerging there with Mr Warburton's signings), King will give us a few options to fit him into the team. Here are three of them.

Option 1: In place of Kenny Miller

Miller has had a very good season with Rangers, but he's not a young man and it might be wise to rotate him. This would involve simply replacing him with King in the team, although it might be better to move Waghorn back into his central role, which he's better-equipped for than the slight and speedy King. The rest of the team would remain largely the same.

Option 2: In place of the problem midfield spot

Playing King in Barrie McKay's position and moving the youngster into the centre would solve two problems. Firstly, it would give us more creativity by playing McKay in what looks like it could be his best position, and secondly, it would allow us to bring King in for probably the weakest spot in the team. Everyone's a winner.

Option 3: Some Football Manager stuff that never works in real life

This doesn't really need Billy King to consider, since he'd simply be rotated with Kenny Miller, and we doubt Mr Warburton is about to adopt this system any time soon, but in theory, it does have some advantages. Firstly, it allows McKay to play behind the strikers in a free role. Secondly, three centre-backs mean players like Wilson and Ball can improve by having another partner, a smaller area of the pitch to cover, and play in a role on the outside which might suit them better. Thirdly, the three centre-backs mean we don't need a dedicated defensive midfielder, so it would be best for Halliday. Fourthly, our full-backs would get to attack more, which is what they do best. Fifthly, we'd have two strikers so be able to give more gametime to Ryan Hardie. We'd also have the option of a more traditional front three with McKay, Waghorn, Miller or King taking up wide positions. It's a shame that this sort of stuff never ever works in practice.