Writing in the Scottish Sun, Kris Boyd has claimed Rangers winger Ryan Kent has been a cut above everyone else in Scotland so far this season.
The Gers spent a reported £7 million to bring Kent in from Liverpool in September 2019 [Mirror] following a promising loan spell and he had a mixed first season as a Rangers player.
He stepped up to the plate on several occasions in big matches but lacked consistency and with a total of eight direct goal contributions in the league, his numbers were underwhelming.
The 23-year-old has made a superb start to the 2020/21 campaign, though, scoring four times in Rangers’ opening seven matches and causing opposition defences all sorts of problems.
Steven Gerrard’s side are currently top of the table and Boyd believes Kent has been the standout player in the country.
Contrasting the winger’s form to that of Alfredo Morelos, whose head was turned by transfer interest from Lille, Boyd wrote of Kent, who has been linked with Leeds: “Instead of throwing his toys out of the pram, he took his game to a level that nobody else in Scotland can currently match” [Scottish Sun].
Kris Boyd says Rangers winger Ryan Kent has been top of the pile in Scotland – Verdict
Kent received plenty of criticism from pundits and supporters alike last season, some of which was justified.
The big-money signing looked reluctant to take on defenders at times and didn’t provide enough creativity in the final third.
Things have been very different so far this season, though, with Kent scoring the opening goal of the campaign against Aberdeen and going from strength to strength ever since.
Rangers’ defence has dominated the headlines but the winger has been Steven Gerrard’s consistent standout in attack and was named the Premiership Player of the Month for August.
With the Gers sitting top of the table and Celtic getting results without looking convincing, it’s probably a fair assessment to brand Kent as the standout player in the league so far.
You don’t win major trophies for having an excellent month and a half, though, and he must look to maintain this kind of form across the rest of the season.
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