Ryan Kent’s striking attributes aren’t well-known, but Barry Ferguson believes he’ll be the man to gun down Aberdeen.
With Steven Gerrard still to make his mind up about a third striker for tomorrow, Kent is a candidate. Many believe that Eros Grezda could be the man to make that role given he’s featured in the last two matches for Rangers as a substitute.
Both Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty will be missing from tomorrow’s squad to face the Dons. The Betfred Cup semi-final clash is sure to be an intriguing one, with the decision on the third striker the main talking point.
Ferguson, however, can’t look beyond Kent for the job tomorrow afternoon. Speaking in his weekly column in the Daily Record, Ferguson said the following:
“Steven could introduce him (Umar Sadiq) as a wild card but I reckon he’ll go with the tried and trusted.
“That probably means Kent will be asked to play through the middle – and his opener against Hamilton last weekend was a reminder of the pace and cutting edge he carries in central areas of the final third.
“Kent is more nippy around the feet of big central defenders but Derek McInnes also faces a dilemma and will have been unable to set up his team with confidence in training all week to counter Rangers in attack.
Grezda still the favourite
Despite Ferguson’s comments, it’s still difficult to see past Grezda. The Albanian got into some good positions against Spartak Moscow, and could have something about him as a front-man. His appearance on Thursday provided hope.
Scott Arfield is available for tomorrow also, and could be played as a false nine. He has the attributes to play in that position, but Gerrard may want him operating just in behind as normal.
Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if it is Grezda who gets the nod. Kent remains a good candidate, and we put a case up for him being the lone-striker also. He has, however, been making a tremendous impact down the left.
He’s Rangers’ main drive going forward, and Gerrard wouldn’t want him to be crowded out. With the Dons defence including Scott McKenna and Michael Devlin, they would likely try to bully Kent around.
The on-loan Liverpool man has shown he has an eye for goal, but it’s looking more and more likely as if Grezda will be the man.
