Should defeat tempt Rangers into making last-gasp Ryan Kent bid?

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Former Glasgow Rangers loanee Ryan Kent has been linked with a return to Ibrox throughout the summer.

Steven Gerrard may be the first Rangers manager since Ally McCoist to boast two wins over Celtic, but Sunday’s clash was not the first time that the Gers have struggled to lay a glove on their rivals during the Englishman’s tenure.

When the two sides met at Parkhead in March, it had appeared that the Hoops were heading for a comfortable win. After 31 minutes, the home side were 1-0 up and Alfredo Morelos had been sent off to make Rangers’ task even tougher.

In truth, the Gers rarely looked like producing the incredible performance that they needed to get back into the contest. That was until just after the hour-mark when Ryan Kent collected the ball around 35 yards from goal after some brilliant work from James Tavernier.

Kent had already danced around Dedryck Boyata when four more Celtic players surrounded him as he scored the goal that changed the complexion of the game. The Hoops would go on to win after a late error, but Kent reminded everyone of how he had graduated and become a game-changer during his loan spell at Ibrox.

The winger is now back at Liverpool, while Rangers are now licking their wounds after losing at the weekend. Unfortunately for Gerrard, no player could produce that moment of magic this time around that Kent provided back in March.

So it will be interesting to see if the 2-0 defeat proves to be the catalyst for Rangers making one final last-gasp bid to get the wide-man back to Ibrox.

Gerrard has played down the suggestion that Rangers could make a fresh move for the youngster, with Liverpool unwilling to agree another loan move, as reported by the Daily Record.

But with Kent looking set for a frustrating few months out of the picture on Merseyside, it looks to be in everyone’s best interests for a deal to be finalised in the final hours of the Scottish window – even if that is another loan that allows that Kent to put himself in the shop window once again. Goal reported earlier in the summer that he was valued at £12 million by the Champions League winners.

Rangers desperately needed one of their players to produce a moment of brilliance from nowhere as they struggled to break down a Celtic side that was intense and failed to put a foot wrong throughout the game. They have those players within their squad, but it was alarming that none were able to take the game by the scruff of the neck, or at least test Fraser Forster.

Kent boasted a brilliant record of making devastating contributions against the Bhoys. Not only did he score that goal, but the nightmare afternoon he gave Mikael Lustig in December will live long in the memory.

Gerrard will struggle to take any positives from Rangers’ defeat. But perhaps the performance is exactly what they needed if it is going to inspire the club hierarchy to roll the dice and make one final attempt to negotiate with Liverpool to get Kent back.