Ryan Kent update emerges as Rangers fans clamour for Auchenhowie training agreement
Ryan Kent is garnering interest from Saudi Arabia as Rangers fans clamour for him to return to Ibrox, according to the Daily Mail.
Simon Jones reported via the paper's website on 22 October that the English winger may now opt to stay abroad following his exit from Fenerbahce.
The early end to his time at the Turkish giants is said to have come by mutual consent, as Jose Mourinho's side allowed him to leave under threat of Kent taking a case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being frozen out.
The 27-year-old was reportedly wanted by Leeds United, Ipswich and Ajax in the summer, and Light Blues fans are said to be hoping he is brought in at Auchenhowie to train before signing in the January window, but the emerging Saudi option may prove to be a threat.
Philippe Clement under threat at Rangers
It is going to take Kent being willing to take a wage drop from what he was on in the Super Lig, and likely what he was previously on at Ibrox, if there is a chance for this deal to happen.
Competition from big-spending Saudi Arabia probably makes that a lot less likely unless he prioritises returning to somewhere that he has been successful before to get his career back on track after a nightmare spell in Istanbul.
Philippe Clement has confirmed he likes the winger and tried to sign him while managing in Belgium previously [Rangers Review, 18 October], and with so many injury issues for Oscar Cortes and Rabbi Matondo it isn't hard to see why the manager might have an eye on a cheap deal this time around.
But after the dismal 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock on 20 October he is facing major questions over his job again, so whether he is even still in charge by the January window may be in doubt.
The fact that Kent has only played once this season, his only game since March, and was otherwise frozen out of the first-team picture, may increase the chances of him being open to training with the Light Blues to build up his fitness ahead of January.
His situation has some echoes of Ianis Hagi's after the Romanian international was left out in the cold under Clement earlier this term, before a contract issue was resolved to bring him back into the fold.
Recruitment at Ibrox is under major scrutiny at present as the team languishes six points back from Celtic and Aberdeen at the top of the table.
And while it can't be overlooked how Kent's form fell off a cliff in his final campaign in Glasgow previously, his impact prior to that was arguably more than anything any of the current crop have so far been able to muster.
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