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Academy midfielder Paul Nsio enjoyed a positive loan spell with Raith Rovers in the Championship last season and he has taken another positive step forward in his development with a move to St Mirren.
The 20-year-old will spend 2026/27 with the Paisley side and he says he is definitely ready for the step up to Scottish Premiership football.
Paul joined the Light Blues in June 2022 as a promising teenager and quickly made his first-team debut in a 3-1 League Cup win over Queen of the South at Ibrox.
He went on to feature in the league against Dundee Utd and in a European tie with Union St Gilloise two seasons ago but he really kicked on last term with a successful loan at Raith.
Nsio played 31 games and scored 3 goals for the Stark’s Park outfit and helped them win the KDM Evolution Trophy in April.
He thrived during his first, regular experience of competitive men’s football and his excellent form was rewarded as he earned Raith’s Young Player of the Year award.
Paul returned to Rangers for pre-season bursting with confidence and now he is relishing the prospect of testing himself in the top-flight with St Mirren.
The young Englishman is confident he has the ability to succeed and develop there and feels he is more than ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
He said: “I’ve always wanted to develop and play at the highest level.
“I feel like this is a good test for me to see what I’m capable of.
“I just love to win. I’m ambitious and I want to help the team and the gaffer win games.
“I want to get the fans behind us and I know some of the lads at St Mirren, like Eseosa Sule and Roland Idowu, so I’m excited for the season.
“Hopefully I’ll learn from the senior boys and it’ll help my development as a player.
“The last few years have flown by, and I’ve shared so many good memories throughout my time in the Academy, be it winning silverware or developing as a player each day.
“It was an honour to make my league and European debut for Rangers and I want to earn more opportunities at a senior level with the club.
“I really enjoyed my time at Raith Rovers last season.
“The Championship is physically hard and obviously I needed to improve.
“The first 15 minutes of each game would just be a basketball game. It was end-to-end, so I had to get used to doing more running. I dug in and all the boys helped me settle there.
“When I first joined, Brian Gilmour told me it was going to be tough and it was.
“I found it quite challenging at times, but that was good for my development.
“I got a taste of first-team football at Rangers and that made me want to go out on loan and play regular men’s football.
“I just want to develop as a player and learn more on and off the pitch, in the first-team environment, where getting 3 points every week is so important.
“Playing in front of supporters in competitive games is what you want to do as a footballer so last season at Raith was a good experience.
“I did a lot of work in the gym so physically I felt better. And technically, you soon start to know what first-team football is really about. The experience definitely helped me progress.
“Winning a trophy and the Young Player of the Year award was a great honour and now I’m looking forward to developing at St Mirren.
“I want to come back to Rangers a better player. I joined in 2022 as a 16-year-old trying to fulfil my dreams.
“Moving away from my family was kind of difficult at first but it was an easy decision to join Rangers. In England, there’s not many chances to get through an Academy so I wanted to come here.
“I’m from South London and moving to a massive club like Rangers from there as a young player is not normally realistic.
“I started at a boy’s club – Lambeth Tigers – and my coach there started doing some video work and we showed it to a scout here and I was invited to come for a trial.
“I did that three times and they told me they wanted to sign me, I actually signed the Rangers contract on my birthday and it was a great feeling.
“Since then, I have been working hard every day and I love it.
“London is so busy, so it was a big change to come to Scotland, it is much quieter and I try to keep myself grounded.
“The facilities here are incredible and all the people were so nice to me when I first joined.
“I felt part of Rangers from the very first day as everyone was so welcoming.
“I just want to thank everyone who has helped me here since I joined, it is obviously a different environment coming from London to Glasgow but I have really enjoyed it.
“Playing games for the Rangers first-team meant so much to me and I was proud to make my debut in that League Cup game at Ibrox.
“I was only at the club for about four months at that time and was working flat out to show what I could do.
“I remember we played Celtic in a youth game and won 3-1 then when I was in for recovery two days later I was told I was in the squad for the Queen of the South game.
“I couldn’t believe it and went home to call my mum and dad.
“It meant so much to me to get that news.
“I remember Giovanni van Bronckhorst called me into his office and told us he would try and get us on in the last 10 minutes of the game.
“I was so grateful to get on.
“I was told to warm up and then I was playing in front of 40,000 fans at Ibrox. That was so big for me.
“I was only 16 when I had played for Rangers and the next day I had school!
“All the younger boys told me they saw me playing at Ibrox the night before.
“I didn’t know too much about the club before I joined but I know all about it now.
“This is a fantastic football club and a great place to learn.
“I will work as hard as I can at St Mirren this season and hopefully come back to Rangers a better player.”
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