Steven Gerrard, after being appointed as the manager of the Ibrox Stadium outfit, has been playing an active role in beefing up his arsenal for the 2018-19 campaign. After signing Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Jamie Murphy, Scott Arfield, Jon Flanagan, Allan McGregor, Lassana Coulibaly and Ovie Ejaria, Gerrard has successfully signed Liverpool’s blossoming young gun Ryan Kent on a season-long loan.
Sky Sports reported that Blackburn Rovers were also keen to prise him out of Anfield but the Gers had the last laugh. Kent graduated from Liverpool’s academy and spent last season on loan with Bundesliga outfit SC Freiburg and English Championship side Bristol City. Prior to last season, he mustered loan spells with Coventry City and Barnsley. However, he has a lot of areas to improve on to force his way into Liverpool’s starting line-up.
In 16 appearances last term while playing for the aforesaid two camps, the 21-year-old managed to cultivate just 2 assists. The Reds do rate him very highly and in the month of August last year, he signed a new deal with his parent club. He must be keen to make an impact in the Scottish top flight this season after some unremarkable loan spells.
Kent has the ingredients to be an exceptional winger and if he can sincerely stick to his task, he can surely be one. He has the ability to beat his opponents with his pace and stupendous dribbling skills and has that crisp element of trickery in his movements. He loves to have the ball at his feet and he loves to get in the wide areas to swing in crosses and create space in the final third.
The English starlet needs regular game time under his belt to ensure that his developmental graph sees ascendancy and a move to Rangers for him makes complete sense. Gerrard is familiar with Kent’s calibre and he needs players like him to dethrone their arch-rivals Celtic as the undisputed Champions of Scottish football. The Light Blues have been in the shadows of the Celts for quite some time now and they certainly need to turn things in their favour this season.
By no means is he a finished product and more often than not, he lacks the final delivery. Besides, he has to work on his decision-making skills and he needs to link-up with his teammates in a better manner. Nonetheless, he is young and under the tutelage of Gerrard, he should be raring to get on the pitch and make an impression and help his team.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
