Liverpool loaned Ryan Kent to Bundesliga strugglers Freiburg in the summer despite reported interest from Celtic
All credit to Ryan Kent, who became one of those rarest of beasts this summer – a Brit abroad. The 20-year-old winger moved from Liverpool to Bundesliga side Freiburg on a season-long loan despite interest from a number of English clubs, including Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Leeds United.
Kent would have been hoping that a rather left-field move could expand his horizons. But his first priority must be to get on the pitch first. Kent came off the bench at half-time in Freiburg’s 3-0 defeat at Stuttgart on Sunday, meaning just one of his five Bundesliga appearances have come from the start.
And with Christian Streich’s side struggling at the wrong end of the table, sitting a point and a place above the relegation play-off position, you wonder whether Kent is really in the right environment to hone his potential.
Perhaps Celtic would have been a better move. The Sun (11th June, page 59) claimed that Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops wanted to take the highly-rated Liverpool youngster on a season-long loan.
And like Patrick Roberts, the Manchester City talent who made huge strides under Rodgers at Celtic last season, Kent would surely have been given the confidence and, most importantly, the opportunity to build on his huge potential.
A club like Liverpool demands their players have a steely winning mentality. Celtic, who won the domestic treble last season without losing a single game on Scottish soil, surely would have given Kent an insight into what is needed to succeed at Anfield.
As long as Freiburg continue to struggle and keep Kent on the bench, however, the feeling that he’d have been better off honing his trade under Rodgers at Celtic is likely to increase.
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