Leeds United have reportedly joined Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard in the race to sign Ryan Kent on loan this summer.
The Yorkshire club are currently looking for their next head coach. They parted company with Paul Heckingbottom after the former Barnsley boss spent around four months at Elland Road.
Despite Heckingbottom’s departure, Leeds appear to be pressing on identifying targets for this window, with Goal reporting that they are considering rivalling Rangers for the chance to take the Reds winger on loan next season.
However, Goal adds that Jurgen Klopp is likely to seek an agreement as part of the deal where the club that signs him faces a financial penalty if the 21-year-old does not manage to start a certain number of games. Goal reports that Bristol City had to pay the Premier League giants £500,000 following a loan spell this past season where Kent made just six league starts.
It would perhaps be a gamble for Leeds or Rangers to consider a move for the youngster. It appeared at one stage that Kent was going to be the brightest talent to come out of the current crop of Melwood youngsters. However, his career seems to have stagnated in the last year.
After a promising loan spell at Barnsley – where he worked under Heckingbottom – Kent made the brave move to join Freiburg in the Bundesliga last summer. However, the move was not a success and he returned ahead of January with just one league start under his belt.
Two assists and no goals came during his time with Bristol City, so he appears to have something of a mountain to climb if he wants to break into Liverpool’s first-team in the future.
And it would certainly be little surprise at this stage if the Leeds and Rangers fans were both divided about whether a move for the potentially-exciting winger would be a good idea this summer.
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