Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent started his Rangers career slow, and there were quite a few naysayers going after him after his earlier outings. After few initial performances, some were of the opinion that Steven Gerrard brought in the wrong Liverpool winger as they were also linked with Harry Wilson who went on to join Derby County on loan. However, Kent has slowly but steadily made the left wing spot his own after Jamie Murphy suffered a season-ending injury.
His performance against Rapid Wien was there for everyone to see as he terrorised the Austrian defence with his powerful runs. The winger drew a lot of fouls, and yellow cards for the opponents and that put them under more pressure as the game moved on as the defenders knew that one wrong challenge or tackle could end their night with a red card. Therefore Morelos might take away a lot of plaudits from last night, but Kent was an absolute beast down the flank.
The youngster has shown improvements in a short span of time, and if he continues to work like this, Rangers have a great player on their hands until the end of the season. Gerrard has already made it clear that he would like to sign the winger on a permanent basis and given the talent Liverpool have in their attacking third, Kent’s chances of breaking into Liverpool’s eleven looks really slim. Who knows what would happen but there is a chance the Gers can get lucky next summer.
However, the 21-year-old is far from a finished product as he still needs to bring the final ball to his game. Sometimes the Englishman is guilty of hurrying everything up when he has time to think in the final third to pick out the right pass.
That is the primary reason why he has managed just one goal and one assist in all competitions so far, and Gerrard would like for him to contribute more on the goals front. However, he is still 21, and so this aspect of the game is something which Kent can improve upon and the best way to improve is by playing regularly which he is going to get at the Ibrox.
Kent is not just tricks and skills as he is hardworking and always willing to track back and help the team out defensively. Gone are the days when attacking players didn’t have any defensive responsibility as now we often see most of the teams defending in numbers when they don’t have the ball.
With young Glenn Middleton having a breakthrough campaign, Kent will have to be at his top of the game if he wants to get regular run in the team. The winger’s recent performances certainly put him up in the pecking order and Rangers’ fan would love to see him carry on like this.
