Rangers are going to have to talk to Ryan Kent about his current contract situation with the winger having less than a year remaining on his deal.
That is the opinion of journalist Dean Jones, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from Ibrox.
According to Football Insider, Kent has rejected a new contract offer from Rangers, with the 25-year-old targeting a move to the Premier League ahead of his contract’s expiry.
Letting his contract run down means that the former Liverpool man, who has been described as “unplayable” by journalist Andrew Dickson, could be available for a cut-price fee in January or a free transfer next summer.
And Jones believes that the club and the player, who joined the Glasgow giants for £7.5m on a permanent deal from Liverpool in 2019, need to communicate in order to figure out their next steps.
He said: “I think Rangers and him will have to sit down and they’ll have to talk this through now, because it is getting to a time when you have to make a decision on what’s going to happen next.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
We believe that if it is clear that Kent has no desire to sign a new contract ahead of the winter transfer window, then the club should look to offload him for a fee in January, rather than letting him leave on a free next summer.
The Oldham-born winger has been a critical figure for Rangers since his arrival at Ibrox in 2018, scoring 31 goals and providing 51 assists in 187 appearances north of the border, according to Transfermarkt.
However, the former Barnsley winger’s poor form has been called out by Brian Laudrup earlier this season, with the Englishman perhaps unable to replicate the form he has shown over the previous four seasons at the club.
Therefore, we think that now might be the time for Rangers to accept that Kent is likely to leave Ibrox, and they should begin to start sounding out Premier League suitors for his signature in the new year.