NILE RANGER has launched a new venture away from football – despite believing he’d still bag 20 Premier League goals if he were in Erling Haaland’s boots.
The former Newcastle striker’s journey has been anything but ordinary, going from Premier League promise to prisonand even in the last year from FA Cup stardom to Sky Sports’ Baller League.
Ranger, 34, shot back into the spotlight last season with a cracking stoppage-time FA Cup winner for Kettering Town against local rivals Northampton Town, a performance that was the peak of an impressive haul of 18 goals in all competitions.
But he was surprisingly released in the summer, moving down the road to Wellingborough Town, nicknamed The Doughboys, in the eighth tier of English football.
The forward’s off-field issues have been well-documented.
He was jailed for eight months in 2017 over online banking fraud, and also spent time in a young offenders’ institute as a teenager after an armed robbery – going on to tell SunSport of his past regrets, and opening up on what prison was like for a footballer last year.
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Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 – all the info
TIME for round two of this generation’s family feud!
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn go punch-for-punch once again as both rivals look to make their fathers proud.
The blockbuster rematch takes place at the 62,000-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, November 15.
Eubank Jr narrowly outpointed his bitter foe after 12 brutal rounds in April to secure the bragging rights in what was certainly a Fight of the Year contender.
And the two British superstars will dance once more as Eubank Jr aims to do the double while Benn seeks revenge after suffering a first career loss.
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Now, though, Ranger is determined to leave that past behind and is educating young people through a North London-based football academy, as well as launching his own podcast, The Indenile Show.
He exclusively told SunSport: “I’m keeping fit, staying fit, and I’ve got my academy project I’m working on. I’m starting a podcast soon, and I just want to mentor kids.
“I’m trying to get youth players from different areas to play against academies and get spotted. They can learn a lot from my journey, because it was so up and down.
“I came from nothing, made it to Newcastle and stayed there for years. I’ve had my troubles off the pitch too, but that’s what makes my story unique.”
Ranger’s confidence is one thing that has never been questioned, and he certainly does not doubt his finishing instincts, insisting he’d score heaps of Premier League goals if he took Erling Haaland‘s role in the Man City set-up.
Asked about his favourite striker and how many he could score in the Prem now, he said: “Haaland is my favourite, it has to be Haaland. He’s a monster. As for me, the tekkers are still there… the lungs, I’m not so sure.
“Taking pens? 20 goals? Why not?”
Ranger is currently starring for N5 FC in the Sky Sports Baller League, managed by Arsenal legends Robert Pires and Jens Lehmann, alongside influencer EmanSV2.
The side sit top of the table after a Martyn Waghorn hat-trick last week, and though Ranger is yet to get off the mark, his hold-up play has been key to two consecutive victories.
If he starts finding the net again at the Copperbox Arena, don’t rule out another remarkable chapter in one of football’s most fascinating careers.
Read the full article here
