Departing Rangers winger Ryan Kent has been singled out by Livingston defender Jack Fitzwater as one of the two ‘toughest opponents’ he has come up against in the Scottish Premiership.
With his contract expiring and Mick Beale confirming that it will not be renewed, there will be plenty of defenders north of the border happy to see Ryan Kent go.
The former Liverpool winger might not have realised the potential that encouraged Rangers to invest £7 million in him back in 2019 but, on his day, there are few wingers in the division more fearsome.
In fact, of all the players Fitzwater has come up against during three years at Livingston, only Celtic talisman Kyogo Furuhashi stands out as Kent’s equal.
Ryan Kent is leaving Rangers this summer
“There are a lot of tough opponents I’ve come up against up here. “But I would say Kyogo and Ryan Kent,” the one-time West Brom youngster tells the Scottish Sun; highlighting Kent’s form during the 2020/21 title-winning campaign in particular.
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“Connor Goldson would hit a diagonal over my head and it would be hard for Nicky Devlin to track Kent’s runs in behind. On his day, he was literally unplayable; speed, power.
“I would say those two are the hardest I’ve faced. It’s full of great players up here and the league is only getting better as well.”
Kent might have mustered just 13 ‘goal contributions’ in 43 games last season but his searing pace and occasionally-devastating directness will not be easily replaced at Ibrox.
Rangers appear to have settled on Aris’ explosive Honduras international Luis Palma as Kent’s ideal successor. A £5 million asking-price, however, is far more than Rangers are willing to offer as things stand.
“Neither (Kent nor Alfredo Morelos) have been offered a contract in the time since I came back in November,” Beale said a fortnight ago.
“We thought it was right for all parties to look for something new. The players were in agreeance as well. We all seemed to be on the same page. Sometimes things run their course, I think it’s fair to say both boys need a new environment.
“Certainly for us, in those positions, we need to bring some new faces in.”