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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Rangers will be left waiting on a potential loan move for Ryan Kent, with the winger set to join Liverpool on their tour of the USA, as reported by The Mirror.
What’s the story?
It had been reported earlier by The Daily Record that Rangers could land Kent as early as next week, with the 22-year-old not yet a confirmed participant of the trip across the Atlantic.
However, The Mirror say that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is now keen to utilise the player in pre-season, blocking attempts from Leeds United and Rangers to land him on loan, with plans to play him against Bradford on Sunday and then take him abroad.
It means that the Gers will be left waiting on whether any loan move for the player will go through.
Other outlets, like STV, have reported the Ibrox club will have the first option on Kent if Liverpool do decide to let him leave on loan later in the summer.
You won’t believe which of Liverpool’s Champions League winning side of 2005 is still playing in the video below…
A chance for others
It’s not as if Rangers are struggling for options on the flanks right now, and a delay in Kent’s potential return means that others at Ibrox should get opportunities to impress manager Steven Gerrard.
Jordan Jones was the first to be utilised on the left wing against St Joseph’s on Tuesday night, gaining praise for the performance on his debut.
He appears to be the Ibrox boss’ go-to option on that flank for now and if he can chip in with goals and assists, complementing his direct pace and dribbling, then he could make the position his own while Kent’s future is still up in the air.
A Kent arrival next week, reported to have been possible, would have surely halted Jones’ progress in the first-team and severely limited his chances to off-the-bench appearances.
The 24-year-old doesn’t have a fantastic track record of direct goal contributions, managing just four goals and four assists at Kilmarnock last season, but he will now have the platform to prove he can do the job at Rangers.