COMPARING promising youngsters who are just breaking into the first team at a senior club with more established footballers has led to some highly unfortunate statements being made over the years.

Simon Donnelly and Stevie Fulton, for example, may well have enjoyed long and successful careers in the professional game, but neither of them ever quite blossomed into Kenny Dalglish and Roberto Baggio.

But for Jak Alnwick, the Rangers goalkeeper who played in the Betfred Cup quarter-final win against Partick Thistle at Firhill on Tuesday evening, the similarities between Ross McCrorie and one of his celebrated former team mates are unavoidable.

Cool under pressure. Two footed. Comfortable on the ball. Alnwick, who played for Newcastle United in the Barclays Premier League at the outset of his career, feels the teenage centre half has the same attributes as Fabricio Collocini.

He believes the Scot is capable of reaching the levels the Argentinian internationalist has scaled in the future if he continues to apply himself.

“I think Ross has got a massive future,” he said. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing and stays on the right path I don’t see why he can’t be whatever he wants to be.

“He is a composed centre half, is incredible with both feet and for his age he’s very mature. You could see the other night he dealt with Conor Sammon, who is one of the big men in this league, quite well. I don’t see why he won’t be up there at the top in the years to come.

“Day to day, he is quite vocal in training. As a lad he is quite a quiet lad. But when you have a conversation with him he is very mature for his age. I haven’t known him a long time, but I wouldn’t have said he was still a teenager. I am sure he is going to keep taking everything in his stride. Hopefully he can be a big thing.”

Asked which player the youngster reminded him of, he said: “I have played with quite a few people and I am not going to compare him with anyone, but Colocinni.

“They are a million miles apart in terms of where they are at now. Colocinni is an international centre half. But in terms of the way they play they are similar. They are both good on the ball, can use both feet, are calm. If Ross keeps working hard there is no reason why he can’t be up there with the qualities that he’s got.”

Pedro Caixinha, who tipped McCrorie to become one of the best defenders in the history of Scottish football after the extra-time win over Thistle, will have no hesitation starting the youngster in the Labdrokes Premiership game against Celtic at Ibrox on Saturday if Bruno Alves fails to recover from a thigh strain in time.

Alnwick made his own first team debut for Newcastle in difficult circumstances – he came on for Rob Elliot at half-time in a league game against a Chelsea team on a record-equalling 23 game unbeaten run in front of 52,000 fans at St. James’ Park in 2014.

But the then 21-year-old coped with squaring up to opponents who fielded Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard and helped his side to record a 2-1 victory.

He has no doubts that McCrorie, who spent loan spells at Ayr United in League One and Dumbarton in the Championship in the past two seasons, will handle the match against Brendan Rodgers’s side and the challenge of playing against the likes of Moussa Dembele, Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair.

“That is why these lads are at the club,” he said. “They’re not at Rangers just to be a spare part. They’re here because they are good young players. They are ready to step in. I am guessing that is why he has been around the building. He will have been learning a lot from Bruno. I have got no doubt that if he does have to play he will be fine.”

Alnwick, who joined Rangers in January after spells at Bradford City and Port Vale on loan, is confident that McCrorie is just one of a raft of players coming through the youth ranks at Auchenhowie who are poised to force their way into the first team.

“This club has got a great academy,” he said. “(Graeme) Murty is doing a great job down there feeding these players through. Hopefully there will be more and more of them coming through. Look at Batesey (David Bates) last season and Aidan (Wilson). Anybody who has stepped in has always done a very good job. That is a credit to the academy that we have got here.”

Alnwick performed well in the Betfred Cup game against Thistle and pulled off several good saves, including two in rapid succession from Sammon when the game was tied 0-0 just before half-time, but he knows that Wes Foderingham is likely to be recalled for the encounter with Celtic.

He is hoping, though, that he has done his cause no harm with his display and will feature in the semi-final at Hampden next month.

“At the end of the day, Wes has been excellent for the past year, two years,” he said. “There can be no doubting that. He is a top goalkeeper.

“I have just got to do what I can do in the games that I get. I have just got to do what I can for the team. That is what I tried to do on Tuesday night. But it isn’t a personal thing for me, it is about winning the competition and getting a trophy for Rangers.”

“As far as I’m aware I will play in the semi-final. That is what the manager has said. But, again, I don’t pick the team. It is what I’m hoping for. Obviously the manager has spoken about this before and has said what he’s said. Hopefully I have impressed enough to stay in the team.”