Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has said that his club have moved on from their interest in Liverpool winger Ryan Kent.
The Liverpool Echo reported earlier this summer that Gerrard’s team were confident of sealing a permanent deal for the 22-year-old after his terrific loan spell at Ibrox last season.
However, the chances of that deal happening are surely now over: “Liverpool’s stance on the Ryan Kent situation stays the same, we move on and we look forward,” Gerrard said at his pre match press conference, via Rangers’ official Twitter account.
“Everyone knows my thoughts on Ryan as a player. Nothing changes in terms of our recruitment, if a player becomes available we will be interested.”
?? SG: Liverpool's stance on the Ryan Kent situation stays the same, we move on and we look forward. Everyone knows my thoughts on Ryan as a player. Nothing changes in terms of our recruitment, if a player becomes available we will be interested.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 30, 2019
OPINION
Well, that very much seems to be that. Clearly Gerrard would love to bring Kent back to Scotland, but that simply isn’t a realistic proposition at the moment. The Liverpool legend obviously likes the player and enjoyed working with him last time out, but he is clearly resigned to not having him on board for this season. The problem seems to be that Liverpool want to sell the player permanently and Rangers simply don’t have the funds necessary to pull off a deal like that. It’s no secret that the finances on offer at the highest level in Scotland are drastically below what there is south of the border, which is why the Ibrox giants are unable to do a deal for a player they clearly really like. It’s a shame for them and for Kent himself that this seemingly isn’t going to happen, but that’s just the way it is. Football is a business at the end of the day, and the Reds simply want what they perceive to be value for a player of Kent’s quality.
