Anderlecht should be a lesson for Rangers to learn from in how to plan for life without a soon-to-be-departing star player.
The Belgian giants, Sports World Ghana report, are closing in on a deal that will see Bernard Tekpetey leave Ludogorets for a fresh start in the Jupiler League. Tekpetey, the report adds, will take the place of fellow Ghanaian Francis Amuzu at Lotto Park; Anderlecht leaving nothing to chance as Amuzu attracts interest from abroad.
With the contracts of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack and Filip Helander all expiring on July 1st, focus, at Ibrox, will also soon turn to what is likely to be a hectic summer of incomings and outgoings.
Manager Mick Beale, however, appears none the wiser about whether or not Kent, in particular, will still be wearing Rangers blue in 2023/24; uncertainty breeding confusion about the nature of Beale’s squad going forward.
“We’ve had discussions around it, and we’ve both parked everything until we’ve found a moment,” Beale recently told Herald Scotland. “I think it’s right, after the amount of years he’s been here and the changes with his third manager here as well, that he takes time to consider his options.
“It’s the same time that we do as well.”
Can Rangers replace Ryan Kent with Francis Amuzu?
Finding a readymade replacement for Kent will not be easy. Few can match Kent’s speed and skill in Scottish football. But nor is it impossible. The aforementioned Amuzu, after all, is a long-time Rangers target. And news of his impending departure from Anderlecht should not go unnoticed.
Like Kent, the former Belgium U21 international, who recently switched his international allegiance to Ghana, also does most of his best work on the left-hand flank. Amuzu boasts rapid pace, devastating directness, and numbers similar to that of Rangers’ former Liverpool whizzkid.
Kent, this season, has three goals and nine assists to his name. Amuzu, meanwhile, has three goals and ten assists.
“He is a guy who has a lot of margin for progression,” former Anderlecht coach Vincent Kompany once said of Amuzu, who represented Belgium at U21 level and has been likened to a young Raheem Sterling.
“Amuzu creates a lot of danger. And I don’t just look at his statistics. He creates a lot of chances.”
Rangers reportedly scouted Amuzu during Mick Beale’s first spell at Ibrox, when he was perched next to Steven Gerrard on the Ibrox bench. With Kent entering the final few months of his contract and with Anderlecht preparing for life without their jet-heeled winger, now feels be the ideal time to strike.
