Rangers set to sign their next Ryan Kent at Ibrox

Glasgow Rangers manager Russell Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell are hard at work behind the scenes at Ibrox as they look to cultivate a winning squad for next season.

The Light Blues have failed to win the Scottish Premiership title in each of the last four seasons, and the new boss has been brought in to turn their fortunes around.

Steven Gerrard was the last Rangers manager to lift the Premiership trophy after the Liverpool legend led the team to an incredible unbeaten season in the 2020/21 campaign.

Of course, that season was behind closed doors, though, and this meant that supporters did not get to enjoy that amazing success in the stands each week.

Martin will now be hoping to replicate that success with supporters able to enjoy it in the flesh, and he could draw inspiration from how Gerrard’s team was built.

One of the stars of that side was electric left winger Ryan Kent, who provided quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Scottish giants that season.

Why Ryan Kent was so influential for Rangers

The former Liverpool forward was an influential figure for Gerrard at the top end of the pitch, and was trusted by the manager, as shown by his 36 starts in 38 league matches.

Kent came off the bench just once in the Premiership season, making 37 appearances in total, which shows that he was a consistent starter and reliable option for the Gers on the left flank.

The English speedster rewarded Gerrard for his faith in him by delivering terrific performances out wide for the Light Blues, leading them to the title with his haul of goals and assists.

Kent ended the campaign with a return of ten goals and nine assists to his name in the Premiership, which earned himself a place in the Premiership Team of the Season, illustrating just how impressive he was in the division.

As you can see in the table above, the Rangers star was an incredibly influential forward for the team because he finished his chances efficiently, created high-quality opportunities at an impressive rate, and was a constant threat in the opposition box.

Rangers could do with another electric winger in the same mould as Kent to propel them back to the top of the Premiership next season, and they may be on the verge of finding one.

Rangers closing in on new winger

According to The Star journalist Joe Crann, Rangers are closing in on a deal to bring Sheffield Wednesday winger Djeidi Gassama to Ibrox this summer.

The reporter claims that a move to Glasgow is “imminent” after the 21-year-old dynamo agreed terms on a four-year contract with the Scottish giants.

Crann claims that a fee has been agreed with the Championship side to snap up the left-sided attackers, and that they have already agreed personal terms with the French speedster.

Meanwhile, The Scottish Sun reports that the Owls sensation is valued at around £2.5m and back up Crann’s claim that the winger is closing in on a transfer to Rangers to bolster Martin’s options on the flanks.

At this moment in time, though, it remains to be known exactly how much money the Light Blues have agreed to pay for the exciting young forward, who appears to be on course to be the club’s latest addition.

Why Gassama could be the new Kent for Rangers

Martin could unearth his own version of Ryan Kent at Ibrox next season by helping the Sheffield Wednesday star to unlock his true potential on the left flank.

The 21-year-old gem is still in the early stages of his career and has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve over the years to come, which means that he should not only be judged on the numbers behind his Championship season last term.

Although, that is not to say that there were no promising signs from the French star last season, because the Owls whiz did catch the eye at times with his blistering displays.

Gassama was described as an “exciting” player by teammate Barry Bannan, and that comment is backed up by some of the data behind his performances for the Championship side.

As you can see in the table above, the potential Rangers signing ranked highly as a goalscorer and constantly got into the opposition’s box, just as Kent did in the 2020/21 Premiership term, but the creative side of his game could be worked on at Ibrox.

Whilst these are not mind-blowing statistics, as he was only directly involved in eight goals at league level last term, Gassama’s form for PSG at youth level suggests that he has another gear to find in the future.

The impressive youngster produced a staggering 22 goals and seven assists in 27 matches for PSG’s U17 team in the 2021/22 season, along with five goals and two assists in eight games for their Youth League side.

This means that Gassama ended that season with a haul of 27 goals and nine assists in 35 games for the French giants at academy level, which is a sensational record and suggests that he has the potential to be as influential as Kent for Rangers if he can get anywhere close to those numbers at first-team level.

It will now be down to Martin to work with him on the training pitches to help him to fulfill his potential and finally fill the hole that has been left on the wing since Kent’s departure in 2023.