Rangers, last season, were over reliant on Alfredo Morelos, part of this was due to recruitment, part due to tactics and style of play, but also due to injury.
Ryan Kent – badly – tore his hamstring in his first game back against Livingston after signing for £7.5million from Liverpool, that he didn’t have a full pre-season behind him wouldn’t have helped, a mistake Steven Gerrard learned from this season with the more gradual introductions of Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten.
Kent is starting to produce the numbers to go with his performances and now has six goals and seven assists to his name, but it is more than these figures that ensures he is one of the first names on the team sheet, as reported by The Scotsman:
“He can be as good as he wants to be
“Ryan has all the tools and the ability and talent to go on improving and get to a different level, without a doubt.
“People judge Ryan on goals and assists and, of course, we do to a certain degree as well. But we also judge him on his application on a daily basis. He’s in magnificent shape. He trains extremely hard in the gym and on the training pitch. He’s professional, selfless for the team.
“People often wonder why we have so much faith in Ryan and why he plays so many games. It’s because – in and out of possession – he totally gets what we’re trying to do in terms of our philosophy. He does a lot of work that people probably don’t notice in terms of blocking lines and being in the right place in regaining the ball.
“He’s aggressive as a winger, which is rare. I’m a huge fan of Ryan Kent. He can go again, for sure, to another level.”
Gerrard has three players that never miss a game unless it is absolutely necessary, Connor Goldson, James Tavernier and Kent, they can play the increased volume of games because they get their rests during the international breaks but there is more to it than that.
As the gaffer says, he is pivotal to how we play, and not just because of his ability to create chances or get on the score sheet, even when he isn’t at his best he is still contributing by winning the ball off defenders or making space for others.
Leeds United are said to still be interested in taking him to the Premier League but with rumours of a new contract being offered, they may have to go significantly higher than the reported £20m release clause that would have seen them get a seat at the negotiating table in the summer.