‘If Leeds want him, they’ll have him’ – talkSPORT pundit makes attacker claim after bid tabled
Jim White bought up the subject of Leeds United signing Ryan Kent on Friday morning after Steven Gerrard confirmed a bid had been rejected for his attacker.
Gerrard delivered a strident response to Leeds saying that the bid was “nowhere near his valuation” in his morning press conference.
However, the consensus in the talkSPORT studio is that the power lies with Leeds when it comes to a deal for Kent.
Talking on the White & Sawyer show (talkSPORT, Friday, 10am), White said, “As Steven Gerrard said, the Premier League holds the power.”
Pundit Bob Mills was more forthright and said, “If Leeds want him they’ll have him.”
Perry Groves concurred, saying, “Leeds are a step up from Rangers in the Premiership. That’s just the way it is.”
Leeds are back!
It’s refreshing to hear Leeds being talked about in the news like this.
When it comes to Kent, Gerrard didn’t rule out a move, he just said Leeds were nowhere near.
However, the information is out there now and although Kent seems settled in Scotland, a move to play for Bielsa in the Premier League must be tempting.
The question is, how much do Leeds want to pay for him?
The bid they’ve tabled is reportedly £10m and that’s a lot of money for a Premiership player.
Comparing Kent’s stats [WyScout] with Jack Harrison’s for last season doesn’t make us think Leeds should bid that much more.
Kent’s xG was 0.29 compared to 0.21 for Harrison. Kent put in 2.5 crosses a game where Harrison did 4.61. Both had a crossing accuracy of around 30%.
Kent attempted more dribbles (8.27 to 6.06) and had a higher pass accuracy (85% to 71.7%) but the Rangers attacker was playing against mainly weak opposition in Scotland and we’re expecting more from Harrison next season.
However, he can play as a second striker and is currently doing that with Alfredo Morelos at Rangers. If that’s the role Bielsa has in mind, then we might be convinced to change our mind.
If not, while Rangers fans will hate what the talkSPORT boys have said, we don’t think they’ve got much to worry about if Gerrard wants over £15m for Kent.
In other Leeds United news, ‘Catastrophe’: Report says club must sell stars with £27m striker top of list & Leeds interested