Paul Robinson: Ryan Kent may want to stay at Rangers another season amid Leeds United links
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson expects it to be difficult for Leeds United to prise Ryan Kent away from Rangers this month despite speculation firing up again in the last week.
Rangers’ exit from the Champions League has led to talk that Steven Gerrard may be forced into selling players in order to make up for the money they’ve missed out on by not qualifying for the group stages.
Speaking on the The Phil Hay Show podcast on The Athletic’s website last week, Phil Hay reported that “Rangers writer Jordan Campbell thinks they will sell now“.
He added: “Kent is an obvious one to go. The one thing Leeds won’t do is meet Rangers’ valuation, which is about £20million.
“They certainly wouldn’t pay a massive chunk of that up front, they would want it to be incentivised.”
Rangers may want a lot of money for the 24-year-old winger, who’s lit up Ibrox in the last few seasons.
And Robinson feels as though Leeds may have to stump up a lot of money to be able to convince the former Liverpool attacker to quit Rangers in order to move to the Premier League as he’s be giving up the challenge for silverware and European football.
“If he’s a player the manager wants then as long as Bielsa’s there, there’s always going to be a link to Kent,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News.
“Whether it’s Bielsa or Victor Orta who’s chasing him, I suspect there’s been a chat between both of them and he’s a player they like and have tried to get.
“I’ve said many times that Rangers are a good place to be at the moment with Steven Gerrard doing a good job there. Kent has an opportunity to win trophies and play in European football there so it’ll take a big incentive for him to leave that because with his age and where he’s at in his career, it’s a great opportunity.
“Yes, the Premier League is a huge pull financially and on the pitch but Rangers are big pull themselves for a lot of players.“
If Leeds do attempt to sign Kent, Robinson feels as though they may have a better chance next year if he doesn’t sign a new contract.
As it stands, Kent will enter the last year of his deal at Ibrox next summer so rather than selling the attacker for free, Robinson reckons he could become more likely to move on.
“Rangers may look to sell him next summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal.
“Players who go into the last 12 months of their contract with a lot of value, Rangers can’t afford to lose players like that.”
In other Leeds United news, Stan Collymore wants the Whites to sign this £70million-rated player after a stunning performance at the weekend.