It was a signing that seemed to make a lot of sense; the player needed to move to somewhere that he would be appreciated and Rangers had an injury crisis that could be easily fixed with a known quantity.
However, despite being a free agent since October, Ryan Kent has just signed for the Seattle Sounders and MLS when, for a long time, it looked like a return to Ibrox under Philippe Clement could well be on the cards.
In January, this seemed even more obvious with Rangers letting Rabbi Matondo leave on loan and Oscar Cortes still struggling with injury.
Once the subject of a £10m bid from Leeds United, the 28-year old now has to rebuild his career and reputation with the Sounders having signed the flying winger to a one-year deal with the option of another year.
Last summer, after hardly featuring for Fenerbahce, Kent was given the chance to return to Scotland according to Turkish media outlet Aspor but knocked it back, a decision that he might regret now given that Rangers is the only club that would have been interested.
When Ryan Kent took on Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce
When Jose Mourinho turned up in Turkey and took charge at Fenerbahce, Kent’s time looked to be over.
With more money to spend and the sort of reputation that attracts big names, the Special One was never going to be too impressed with a winger who wasn’t scoring goals or creating assists.
Mourinho gave Kent one last chance in pre-season, only for him to tell the former Liverpool academy graduate that, “I will never let you play,” reported by Yeni Safak, as the Portuguese boss tried to force the winger out.
Kent’s contract was eventually cancelled after he dug his heels in and refused to move until the rest of his contract had been paid up.
Why Rangers signing Kent would have been an awful idea
Kent has just seven goals in his last four seasons, with six of those coming in his last two at Rangers.
As one of the club’s top earners, this wasn’t value for money.
For context, Rabbi Matondo scored six last season, he was barely fit and certainly wasn’t one of the first names on the team sheet.
What Abdallah Sima did last year, and main man Vaclav Cerny has done this season, is show what level Rangers wingers should be aspiring to.
Double digits for goals and assists should be the target, 20 goals and assists for the season should be the bare minimum.
Kent only had one season at Rangers where he hit double figures despite rarely missing a game.
Yes, his work rate was good, however, not selling him to Leeds when the £10m offer was on the table looks worse with every passing year that the former young player of the year fails to play at the level that everyone knows he is capable of.
