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<\/p>\nAs far as wasted talent goes in Premier League circles, Nile Ranger is up there with the saddest samples of the 21st century.<\/p>\n
The former Southampton and Crystal Palace youth prospect eventually earned his top-flight breakthrough at Newcastle, but a career among football's elite wasn't to be. As the player himself has since admitted, that was largely self-inflicted as a pattern of ill discipline and run-ins with the law spoiled any chance of major on-field success.<\/p>\n
But now, at age 32, Ranger is ready to prove he's still got what it takes to compete at a high level. That's despite being out of the sport for more than a year having left National League outfit Boreham Wood in the summer of 2022.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/b>'I'd be Haaland if crime hadn't killed my career \u2013 I had crisis meetings at every club'<\/b><\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/b>Newcastle's worst-ever transfers \u2013 \u00a350k an appearance, YouTube signing and Nile Ranger<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t take in the advice. I should be minimum Championship right now," the London native told The Athletic. "I shouldn\u2019t be having problems, but I didn\u2019t listen. If I added nutrition to my game and behaviour, I\u2019m [Erling] Haaland. But I didn\u2019t want to listen. I thought I knew it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chelsea legend and former Newcastle director of football Dennis Wise took a chance on Ranger as a teenager, bringing him to St. James' Park despite the player having already spent time at a young offenders' institute for a street robbery. Over the space of a decade, the forward faced charges with differing fortunes wherever he went in his career, with short stints at Barnsley, Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon and Southend.<\/p>\n
Who is the biggest example of wasted talent in Premier League history? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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Ranger was in the final months of his Newcastle career when he was arrested on suspicion of rape in January 2013, and it was more than a year later that he was cleared of the charge. It was one month after his release by the Magpies in March 2013 that he admitted to common assault against Shakira Bicar.<\/p>\n
He was also jailed for 10 months in May 2017 after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud following his involvement in an online banking fraud. However, he was released after 10 weeks for good behaviour and said he's 'not build for jail'.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m very good at football, people can play to 38 or 39,\u201d he continued. \u201cI can still play. I want to get back then I can climb."<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve got to go and show what I can do or I\u2019m going to get to an age where I can\u2019t move," Ranger added. "It catches up with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some are bound to have serious doubts as to whether Ranger stands a realistic chance at making it big given his advanced years. He scored just three times in 62 senior appearances for Newcastle, though his records at Swindon (10 goals in 28) and Southend (10 goals in 50) are more respectable.<\/p>\n
The attacker joined Boreham Wood in December 2021 but made just four appearances (all in the FA Cup) for a sum total of six minutes, with the last of those coming in March 2022. <\/p>\n