RYAN KENT has experienced the life on the road and become tired of making temporary stops home from home. Now, he is ready to put down roots, to commit his future and his football to a club that not only makes him feel wanted but that can match his own ambitions in the game.
The contract that Kent signed with Liverpool two years ago has tied him to Anfield until 2022. He is unlikely to still be a Red by then, though.
Stints at Coventry, Barnsley, Freiburg and Bristol City have allowed Kent to grow his reputation and expand his horizons.
But his chances of earning a crack at Jurgen Klopp’s first team - a side that still have Premier League and Champions League ambitions going into the final weeks of the campaign - seem somewhat remote right now.
The time, then, may have come for Kent to leave. The only questions are the where and the when.
READ MORE: Rangers winger Ryan Kent admits silverware chances will sway his summer decision over his future
“I agree with you that they have been phenomenal this season, as they were last season,” Kent said of Liverpool. “To reach the Champions League final last season and potentially reach it again back to back is a great achievement in itself. As for me, I have mentioned before that I want to kick start my career somewhere now. I am tired of changing clubs each year, I want to become a player somewhere where I can settle down.
“Liverpool have been good to me, but the enjoyment factor of going back there each year and doing well in pre-season and going back out on loan, it is a repetitive cycle.
“It is something that is being discussed right now and something that I would consider. I am considering many things after this season.”
Every loan deal that Kent signed and every move that he made was designed to take his game to the next level. Not all had the desired impact.
Recent years have been difficult for the forward as he has struggled to settle and find his best form.
But the switch to Rangers has given him the platform upon which to showcase his talents and get his career back on track as Steven Gerrard has got the best out of him.
“I think each year that I have been playing, I have always wanted to go to the next level,” Kent said. “I started off at Coventry in my first loan spell, my first experience of men’s football in a men’s environment.
READ MORE: Craig Mulholland reveals words of encouragement from Real Madrid towards his Rangers kids
“Then to step it up a division into the Championship with Barnsley. I had a successful loan spell there and thoroughly enjoyed it under Paul Heckingbottom, who was a great help. I got Young Player of the Season at Barnsley and then decided to take it to the next level and go to Germany.
“Under the circumstances, it didn’t work out so I decided to go to Bristol. It didn’t work out there again so a decision had to be made this season on the footballing side of things. Steven Gerrard provided those opportunities for me.
“I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to play in the Europa League anywhere else I could have gone this season. In my eyes, it has been a success this season.”
The matches with Hibernian, Celtic and Kilmarnock in the coming weeks will be the last ones that Kent plays this season. Only time will tell if they are his final outings for the Gers.
His performances under Gerrard’s guidance have endeared him to the Ibrox crowd and he would be a significant loss if another deal cannot be done to bring him back from Anfield.
Kent has made an impression on Rangers, but the same can be said of the club on the winger.
“That is a massive boost and since the day I have arrived the fans have been magnificent to me,” he said. “Very support and they have given me massive confidence to go and express myself and get the most out of my game.
“I was told about Rangers before I arrived there and what a big club it was, but I didn’t realise exactly how big Rangers Football Club is.
READ MORE: Rangers and Celtic set to quit SPFL Reserve League in a bid to boost Academy teams
“I have experienced that first hand and it has been great for my family to experience that as well. Especially in the Europa League games, they are opportunities that I wouldn’t have had anywhere else this season.
“To come away with that and have a successful European spell as well has been great for the club and for myself.”
The 40 appearances that Kent has made this term have yielded only six goals but the plaudits have been far more plentiful as he established himself as one of the most talented players in the Premiership.
His performance in the win over Celtic at Ibrox was arguably his best of the campaign. Even in defeat at Parkhead, he earned praise.
Kent said: “To have been part of the Old Firm games is incredible and I am sure many players dream of being involved in one of those games.
“The adrenaline you get out of those games, you see the enjoyment in brings to the fans just watching it. It is such a big deal. Obviously the competitive side of playing up here has been massive as well.
READ MORE: Jake Hastie spurned the sun to get in shape and now he is heading for Rangers after a dream season
“They are the games you relish as a footballer, everyone wants to be involved in those games.
“That is when I feel like I come alive, in the top level games.”
It is not just at Ibrox where Kent’s efforts have been recognised this season. On Wednesday, he was named on the lists for both the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year prizes.
He said: “I am really delighted to be nominated, especially for an award that comes from my fellow colleagues. I am really made up with that.
“I feel that the performances I have put in have been really good and of a high level. I don’t have too much to show for my performances this season in terms of numbers. I would like to have scored more goals, a few more assists and obviously some silverware as well. That wasn’t the case this season but I am happy with the way my season has gone.
“I feel like I have evolved and improved as a player and each year I have had on loan I have always taken things away, whether it has been a good loan spell or not. I think this year has been a big improvement for myself on and off the pitch. I am improving physically and mentally.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here