James Fowler has been appointed as the new Head of Academy Scouting and Recruitment at Rangers.

The Kilmarnock legend is back in football over 18 months after leaving his role at the Rugby Park club.

It emerged in January this year that the 43-year-old was the frontrunner for the position.

It's understood that he's carried out some coaching work with the club's academy since leaving Killie, the team he spent the vast majority of his career with.

Now, while Rangers have yet to officially announce the appointment, Fowler has updated his LinkedIn profile with his new job title. 

The head of the club's academy, Zurab Amirian, had been tasked with overseeing an overhaul of the youth system at Auchenhowie. It seems he's got his man in terms of recruitment. 

Fowler has a plethora of experience in football since retiring as a player. 

He managed Queen of the South before spells as assistant to Jack Ross at St Mirren and Sunderland. 

Fowler then returned to Killie - where he won the League Cup in 2012 - as their Head of Football Operations in 2019. He oversaw the firing of Angelo Alessio while hiring and firing both Alex Dyer and Tommy Wright.

With two caretaker spells in charge of his boyhood club, Fowler is then credited with bringing Derek McInnes to Rugby Park in January 2022. After a short spell working with the 52-year-old, as Killie lifted the Championship title, he left the Ayrshire side, with Russ Richardson replacing him. 

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Meanwhile, Rangers' rematch with Benfica at Ibrox this evening may, much to the annoyance of the host club and their legions of supporters, be getting underway early due to UEFA broadcaster commitments.

But Philippe Clement fully expects the second leg of the Europa League last 16 double header to be The Late, Late Show.