Pundit values “potential superstar” at “£20m plus” if he continues to shine at Rangers

Former Aberdeen forward, Noel Whelan, believes that Ryan Kent’s value has trebled already given sporting director, Ross Wilson’s recent valuation of the Rangers squad.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan waxed lyrical about the summer signing from Liverpool and how important he is to the Ibrox side.

So what has Whelan said?

When asked about Kent’s valuation and his role in Steven Gerrard’s team, Whelan said:

“Ryan Kent is a potential superstar, Alfredo Morelos is the most valuable player at Rangers, but Kent can’t be too far behind”.

“You look at his goal against Hamilton – the quality he has got is beyond most players in Scotland. And that’s why Rangers spent £7.5million on him”.

“He’s young, exciting, he’s going to improve and, if he listens to Steven Gerrard and his staff, you’re looking at a £20million-plus player in a few years. That’s what Wilson and the board will think”.

“Matchwinners are worth their weight in gold. Getting him back to full fitness gives Gerrard a massive asset”.

So is Whelan correct?

First of all, a player is only worth what a team is willing to pay for them, secondly, yes, Whelan is right, Kent has the potential to improve and be worth even more than the £20m that has been mentioned in speculation surrounding Morelos.

Morelos is ahead of Kent in terms of development because he has played more games, more consistently, Kent had spent the last three seasons out on loan before signing permanently for £7.5m from Liverpool this summer. Gers fans only started to see the best of the Englishman in the second half of the season once he had settled and knew his role in the team.

With speculation linking Callum McGregor to a £20m move to Leicester and Leigh Griffiths now being hailed as a £20m striker, Ryan Kent more than deserves to be mentioned in the same bracket. The transfers of Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney have shown that Scottish clubs can make decent money if they hold firm.

Kent demonstrated against Hamilton by scoring from 25 yards with his “weaker foot” that he is a defender’s worst nightmare, not only is he exceptionally quick over 5-10 yards but he is equally adept on either foot, it’s not uncommon for him to take corners from both sides with different feet.

Now that he is off the mark, Kent will be looking to continue to add to his 2 goals and 1 assist, after hitting the post three times since his return it was only going to be a matter of time before he opened his account.

Whelan hits the nail on the head, if Kent follows Morelos’ example and listens to the coaching staff at the Hummel training centre, the sky is the limit and £20m won’t be enough to buy his “weaker” left foot.