THE England scout who has tracked Joe Dodoo’s progress at Leicester City today told the forward he must move to Rangers in order to fulfil his huge potential.

Dodoo, the 21-year-old who made his first team debut for English champions Leicester last season, has been training with Rangers at Auchenhowie this week.

Mark Warburton is keen to bring the promising youngster – either on loan or in a permanent deal – in to Ibrox ahead of the 2016/17 campaign.

Jamie Hoyland, who has just returned from the Euro 2016 finals in France where he was a member of Roy Hodgson’s back-room team, believes the Ghana-born player would be an excellent acquisition.

Hoyland also feels the former England youth internationalist, who can be used as a winger or a striker, has to play regular first team football in the season ahead if he is to develop further.

“Joe was one of the young players who I got signed up to have a look at for the England Under-21 team when he was coming through at Leicester,” he said.

“I saw him when he made his debut for Leicester in a League Cup game against Bury last season – when he scored a hat-trick. He ended up going to Bury on loan on the back of that game.

“The one thing that Joe has got is the ability to create something out of nothing. He will disappear during games. Then, all of a sudden, he will pop up, beat two or three players and spank one in the top corner.

“He is quick. He can travel with the ball. He is a six footer and is a big strong lad, but I wouldn’t say he is a physical player. Having said that, he has played in League One in England and can handle himself.”

Hoyland added: “He has certainly got massive potential at the moment. What he has to do now to take his career to the next level is to play first team football week in, week out and perform on a consistent basis.

“I wouldn’t say he’s unpredictable, but he has got the capacity to create something out of nothing. He has, though, to learn how to produce week in, week out. I am sure that will come with a run of games.

"He needs to go to a club where he feels a part of things. He returned to Leicester from his loan spell at Bury midway through last season and thought: ‘Right, I’m going to try and stake a claim for a place in the first team’.

“But, of course, they were on top of the Barclays Premier League. The rest, as they say, is history. It is very hard for a youngster to force his way into the team when you are at a Leicester of a Manchester United or a Manchester City."

Hoyland, the former Manchester City, Sheffield United and Burnley midfielder who followed Wales for England manager Hodgson during Euro 2016, has been impressed with the quality of players Warburton has brought in during the close season.

He feels that Dodoo will benefit hugely from playing alongside experienced professionals like Joey Barton in Glasgow and in front of the sell-out crowds that are widely anticipated at Ibrox in the Ladbrokes Premiership in the forthcoming season.

“He will flourish from having better players around him,” he said. “He has a chance to play with Joey Barton and will only learn from having somebody like that around.

“I do work for BBC Lancashire and I saw Joey play quite a lot for Burnley. Nobody in Burnley has a bad word to say about him after how he played last season. But he has made the right decision going to Rangers. It is another challenge for him, to come up to Scotland and try and get Rangers back on top.

“The Rangers fans make every away game like a home game because there are so many of them. The pressure to do well and win is constant. It must be brilliant to play for them. Joe has to take that opportunity. If Rangers come calling then you have got to go and play there. Simple as that."

Hoyland continued: “I would have walked on broken glass to play for Rangers when I was a player and Joe should do the same. It isn’t a step up from Leicester, but it is still one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is a fantastic opportunity for him.

“I think a lot of English players who are operating at under-21 level in England would benefit from going to play in the Scottish Premiership. It is a good league, some of the matches are really tough and in terms of atmosphere there is nothing to touch it.

“To be at a club where you are expected to beat every team you play will be a great experience for a young player like Joe. It will be a big learning curve for him, but it will be invaluable.

“It is all very well playing in these development leagues. But what are you learning as a young footballer by playing in front of one man and a dog? You have to play for three points on a Saturday in front of a crowd. That is what he is going to get at Rangers.”