Former Bayern Munich player Owen Hargreaves has praised Ryan Kent after his display in Rangers historic 4–2 victory over Borussia Dortmund, comparing his performance to legendary winger Franck Ribery.
The winger put in an outstanding performance on Thursday night, showing why Rangers were willing to spend £7m to bring him to Ibrox.
Kent had 44 touches, 81.8% pass accuracy, and made 3 key passes [SofaScore].
The highlight of his attacking game was a tremendous assist for John Lundstram to put Rangers 3-0 ahead. Kent weaved his way through three players in Akanji, Bellingham, and Hummels before cutting the ball to Lundstram on the edge of the box for a great finish.
The winger had the Dortmund defence on toast all night and looked back to his brilliant best in a Rangers shirt, managing to complete four of his six dribbling attempts.
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However, his willingness to contribute defensively can’t go unnoticed. He won 10/14 of his ground duels, made two interceptions and four tackles, he also managed to make one clearance.
It was a real team effort with every player to a man showing real desire, it was a night and day performance in comparison to the defeat at Celtic Park a few weeks ago.
Ryan Kent came under scrutiny for his role that night, as did every other Rangers player, deservedly. He has struggled for consistency since his move from Liverpool and performances like Thursday night show Rangers fans are right to question why he can’t perform to that standard on a more regular basis.
Comparisons to Ribery
Owen Hargreaves had some huge praise for Ryan Kent after the game despite claiming Dortmund likely had no knowledge of Kent prior to the game. Speaking to BT he said: “The Dortmund players probably didn’t know much about him before the game.
“But you can guarantee that afterwards in the dressing room every one of them would have been saying ‘who’s that guy?’
“I thought Kent was absolutely brilliant,
“In a way it almost looked like he was Franck Ribery tearing through Borussia Dortmund the way he was dribbling in the way that he used to do that for Bayern Munich with his control and quality.
“It was exceptional play to set up John Lundstram for Rangers’ third goal.
“Running at players at pace I think is Kent’s greatest attribute. He shocked everyone there.”
Hargreaves then went on to say he believes teams in the top leagues will be monitoring Kent’s situation.
“He played so well that I wouldn’t be surprised if teams from the Bundesliga or teams from the Premier League are looking at him.
“As that is a performance that you have to look at and think, ‘wow, that is a special player when he’s in possession and running at people’.
Rangers need to get Kent to sign a new deal — TBR View
Kent is different to any other player Rangers have, his pace and skills are unmatched, and he is unplayable on his day. His assist for Lundstram is a brilliant piece of individual magic and has drawn comparisons to top players such as Ribery and a young Barry Ferguson against Bayer Leverkusen several years ago.
Leeds have been credited with a long-term interest and Rangers must do everything they can to get Ryan to extend his deal beyond 2023. If he refuses to stay, then Rangers will need to cash in on him this summer to gain a fee.
Nonetheless, with nights like Thursday and the prospect of Champions League football at the end of the season, Ryan Kent may feel he still has a lot to achieve at Rangers. Subsequently, Rangers fans will be hoping he can stay at Ibrox beyond 2023 and continue to tear teams apart.