Former Liverpool wonderkid Ryan Kent will be searching for a new club this summer after his Rangers exit was confirmed.
The Scottish giants have confirmed that the speedy winger will be leaving Ibrox this summer at the end of his contract. His exit was announced on Tuesday afternoon in a lengthy statement that also confirmed the departures of Scott Arfield, Alfredo Morelos and Filip Helander.
Kent’s departure brings to an end a successful spell with Rangers after originally putting pen to paper on a permanent move north of the border back in 2019. He had originally signed a loan deal with the club before a £6.5m permanent deal was struck.
He previously took aim at Liverpool for delaying his permanent switch back to Rangers after initially returning to Merseyside for pre-season. Speaking at the time, he said: “It was very tough.
“I had to stay mentally strong, when you are told you can do one thing and then you are lied to and it doesn’t happen, that is quite hard to take. I just had to keep myself fit and train on my own and make sure I keep my fitness levels up and I was waiting for a moment like this to arrive.
“There’s no bitter taste, the thing that I wanted from the start happened at the end so I am just happy with that. I would have liked to have been here [with Rangers] from the start, it is quite difficult watching it on the TV wishing I was part of some of the games but I am delighted to be back and I can’t wait to get going.
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“There were probably some slight concerns along the way when I thought this might not happen and I might have to plan for something else but I always had a feeling that it might go to the last day of the window and that’s what happened.”
In all, Kent, 26, has represented Rangers on 218 occasions, scoring 33 goals and providing 57 assists. He has a Scottish Premiership title and Scottish Cup to his name, whilst he also helped the club to last season’s Europa League final where they were defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.
Kent will now begin his search for a new club. A number of sides have already been linked with a swoop for his services.
A clutch of Premier League sides including Everton, Leeds and Bournemouth, as well as newly-promoted Burnley, are all reported admirers of the wideman. One surprise option could potentially be Turkish side Fenerbahce.
Kent only ever played once for the senior Liverpool side during an FA Cup draw with Exeter back in 2016. He played twice against his former side this season in Rangers' Champions League showdowns with the Reds.
The Scottish side lost 7-1 at Ibrox before losing 2-0 in the return leg on Merseyside.