As Fenerbahce winger Ryan Kent is being tipped to re-join Rangers, we wouldn’t be getting too carried away.
Ahead of Philippe Clement’s first transfer window in charge of the club, a lot of the talk has centred around former Ibrox winger Ryan Kent.
Apparently toiling in Turkey following a surprise summer move to Fenerbahce, Ryan Kent hasn’t started a Super Lig game since August and has been limited to appearances from the bench.
But playing in the 0-0 draw with Adana Demirspor ahead of the international break, Ryan Kent has actually been involved in four of Fenerbahce’s last five league games.
The ex-Liverpool winger has also started all four matches in the club’s Europa Conference League campaign.
Whilst the 27-year-old attacker might not be getting the exposure of a first-team regular, you’d think he’s been bombed out and transfer listed.
Circular Ryan Kent Rangers reports
The truth is that these reports, the latest of which suggest ex-Celtic star Jota could be a January catalyst to make the move happen, are all circular.
The Turkish media are reporting comments from the British and Scottish press and then this is being rehashed and fed back to readers like it’s a genuine possibility, losing any semblance of sense amongst the Turkish whispers.
Now we’re not saying Fenerbahce or even Ryan Kent aren’t looking to do business this winter, but to call the links a stretch is probably a fair assessment.
The entire thing stems from Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu of Sports Digitale, who claimed that one Scottish and one English club were interested in a January loan move for Ryan Kent.
The Turkish press are notorious for stirring up transfer stories and drama around underperforming stars and this probably should’ve been taken with a pinch of salt.
Instead it’s spawned reams of digital copy and it’s been discussed as if it’s had some basis more reliable than a cryptic tweet from Turkey.
Look forward, not back
As talented a player Rangers had in Ryan Kent, the winger probably should’ve been moved on before that summer switch to Fenerbahce.
Given that Rangers paid £7m to sign the winger from Liverpool, the club’s player trading model took a dent when Kent walked out the door for free in the summer.
Not only that, but some Rangers fans appear to have a short memory when it comes Kent’s disastrous final season in Glasgow, where a paltry return of three goals would make Dalcio blush.
Now we’ve had Barry Ferguson discussing the return as a legitimate possibility and there are some fans who appear to have bought into the entire thing.
We’ve even looked into the suggestion of Philippe Clement – who wanted the winger during his time at Club Brugge – reigniting his historic interest.
The reality is that Ryan Kent is probably about where he can expect to be in his first season at Fenerbahce, with the likes of Dusan Tadic, Sebastian Szymanski and Ifran Kahveci ahead of him in the table-topping club’s squad.
It might make nice to headlines to suggest Ryan Kent will be returning to Rangers in January, or that he’s failed in Turkey, but from where we sit the entire thing looks like overblown nonsense.
As Rangers look forward into a new era at Ibrox under Belgian manager Philippe Clement, it’s also time we look forward and not back.
