‘£20m would be a steal’ – Exclusive: McLeish makes Rangers transfer claim after report emerges
We’re delighted to welcome former Rangers manager Alex McLeish as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Alex McLeish believes that Rangers star Ryan Kent is “worth every penny” of his reported £20million release clause amid interest from Leeds United.
Football Insider has reported that Rangers would be obliged to accept bids of £20million for Kent, 23, due to a clause in his contract.
Leeds have reportedly had a £10million bid rejected by the Gers for their star attacker, who has scored five goals and assisted five more in 10 appearances across all competitions this season.
Although it would take doubling their offer to be able to sign Kent from Rangers, ex-Gers manager McLeish believes that is a fair fee for the in-form Englishman.
“I would say it is [a fair price] regardless of critics in England saying it’s only the Scottish league,” McLeish told Ibrox News.
“He’s playing at a great level in European football. He looks as if he’s getting better, more confident and more inspiring as each season passes.
“When he first came into the team, he was a kid who didn’t have all the answers but the more he plays, the more he starts to find them.
“He’s shown in these games that he’s now one of the most important players and the first pick on Stevie’s team list.
“£20million would be a steal in current times because Premier League guys are paying £30-40million for players from abroad and sometimes players from abroad take a while to settle. Homegrown guys normally hit the ground running.
“Unless it’s a superstar like Messi, those big names who you know are going to do it for you but they cost like £100million.
“Kent is worth every penny.”
The Sun has recently reported that Leeds will turn their attention back towards signing Kent if they fail to sign Daniel James on loan from Manchester United.
Leeds have plenty of time to sign Wales international James as the domestic transfer window in England doesn’t close until mid-October.
However, the Yorkshire club has until Monday if they want to sign Kent.
If they offer £20million, Rangers seem as though they will have no choice but to accept it.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that but Leeds have already spent a lot of money since returning to the Premier League so that is unlikely.
In other Rangers news, this free agent has headed to Auchenhowie after rejecting a deal at a Premier League club.