Rangers could face a battle this summer to hold onto one of their key players with Leeds United rumoured to be following up on their rejected bids from last year as the attempt to lure Ryan Kent to the Premier League.
Kent was sensational against Celtic and one man who knows all too well about being the main man in Old Firm derbies feels that the 24-year old would be better served by spurning any advances and staying put in Glasgow.
Brian Laudrup used to have a similar effect on their defence, Tom Boyd still has nightmares, and the Great Dane has identified the Champions League as the biggest reason to stick around for at least another year, as told to The Daily Mail:
“Everyone knows the financial side of football influences decisions.
“A really huge offer might come in this summer that Rangers and the player both decide they can’t turn down. That’s life. But I hope Kent stays at Ibrox. Because I can see real benefits from it.
“The lure of the Champions League is there next season. It could be a chance to test himself against the very best players in the biggest competition of all. You can’t get that at Leeds right now.
“I think Kent feels he owes a lot to Rangers for the opportunity they have given him. And there’s no doubt he has paid them back this season.
“But one or two more years in Glasgow could enable him to make those improvements I see within him. There could be more trophies.
“More experiences. I think it’s too much to leave behind just yet.
“At 25 or 26, he would still have plenty of time to go to a different league. Growing his game further, impressing in the Champions League, could open up another, higher level of club being interested him. It’s possible. If he keeps on rising.”
If we do qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, there is no way we will dominate possession as much as we do in the Scottish Premiership which would give Kent a lot more space and time on the ball than he is usually accustomed to, he’s also unlikely to have two players marking him every time he gets the ball.
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Kent has been the match winner on more than one occasion in the Europa League but, as Laudrup says, there are no guarantees that he will get the opportunity to play in the Champions League again and he will be dying to test himself at that level and if he does well, he will have bigger teams than Leeds chasing his signature.