It’s time for Rangers to move on from key players who have regularly let the side down and Ryan Kent is now close to the front of the queue.
With six goals in two seasons, regardless of what he is tasked with on a weekly basis, he is miles away from producing the sort of numbers that are acceptable. Kent knows it and, more importantly, so does Michael Beale.
The 26-year old has always been more than just pure numbers though in terms of goals and assists but when his creativity and decision making also falters, it’s hard to justify a wage rise that would see him become one of our top earners.
A picture paints a thousand words as Ryan Kent fails to deliver for Rangers
There were two moments against Celtic that define Ryan Kent over the last two years. His form of 2020/21 seems a distant memory with a hesitancy that has crept into his game and has affected his ability to make the right call, especially in overload and counter attacking situations.
This sort of situation should be bread and butter for a £7.5million winger, one defender to occupy and two team mates to pass to. He should draw in the defender then release the pass or play the longer pass early to take them out. Kent did neither.
Twice he should have either driven at the defender and tried to get a shot away himself or played in Alfredo Morelos but, on both occasions, the pass was played at the wrong time and in the wrong direction and the opportunity was lost.
The image shown is a frustrating one but at 3-2 down and with a 3v2 overlap with Morelos and Fashion Sakala in support, that we didn’t even get a shot away is shocking and Kent should have made the difference as Jota did at the other end.
Rangers need to be more clinical if a return to winning league titles on a consistent basis is to be achieved and this sort of situation should be bread and butter for a player of Kent’s ability.
It’s now at the stage where Todd Cantwell should be pushed higher up the park to let him have the freedom he was afforded for Norwich City when he was starring in the Premier League.
From “not being broken” to potentially starting next season with a whole new front three, the recruitment team at Auchenhowie has a much bigger job this summer than they would publicly admit, however, it won’ take a genius to find a player that could execute the passes that Kent seems to be struggle with nowadays.
