Ryan Kent will leave Rangers this summer, likely for Premier League Burnley, after Vincent Kompany’s promoted Championship side sought a new left winger to push current starter Anas Zaroury for a place next season.
After talks during the international break between Michael Beale and Kent failed to yield positive results, it has become apparent Kent now sees himself moving on and will use his Bosman status to get a lucrative Premier League move this summer.
The fact is Kent’s Rangers race has been run the whole season – his miss against Eintracht was probably the beginning of the end for him at Rangers, and sources tell us his partner has been informing close friends that he’s simply ‘fed up’ playing in Scottish football, which we don’t exactly blame him for. It is a diabolical league.
Kent has given five years of his career to Rangers, some of his very best, but there is a sense now that the relationship has reached a natural end and he’d leave with our best wishes at Ibrox Noise if and when he makes for the exit door.
We know a lot of the support do not like Kent any more, considering him poor this season and a ‘waste of money’. Not exactly fair given he’s given us plenty over the five years, but fans get emotional and lash out when a player leaves, because how dare a player leave us.
He had what felt like a little renaissance under Michael Beale, becoming more visual in the centre of the pitch, but that goodwill from fans has faded in recent weeks and he’s become a very easy target to criticise above most other players.
The price tag doesn’t help – the second-most expensive signing in Rangers’ history so fans have always judged Kent slightly differently to other less pricey players, but it’s not like he’s never played like a £7.5M winger.
Either way, be it Burnley or anyone else, Kent will make his way south to have a go at England’s top flight, and Rangers and life will move on probably with Tom Lawrence, for now, his replacement.
But we need more than Lawrence if we’re to get where we need to be.