Scout report: Ryan Kent, Liverpool’s promising young winger

In modern day football, the role of a winger cannot be undermined. Due to the contrasting fortunes, quality and form of clubs within the same league or clubs participating in the same competition, it is often a common sight to see teams sit back and defend in numbers.

When teams defend in numbers, it becomes difficult for attacking players to find space and get the ball into the box and hence it’s important to draw the defenders out wide and create space in the middle for other players to exploit.

Wingers are usually the quickest players on the pitch and they often have a bag full of tricks up their sleeve to leave defenders in their wake. The best examples of such wingers among the active players are Neymar, Eden Hazard or Arjen Robben. They are all top class players who can beat players at will, draw defenders out of position and also score a lot of vital goals.

For Liverpool, it has been a long time since a winger of that quality has played for them. The Reds have always had top class strikers but it is hard to pick a winger from their recent past who has made a significant impact other than Sadio Mane.

Jurgen Klopp has also recognised this and in two consecutive summer transfer windows, he has signed Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to add pace, width and more flair to the squad. However, with Liverpool participating in four competitions this season, they may need a backup to these pacey wingers.

It’s difficult for Liverpool to spend heavily on another winger this summer as their priorities clearly lie elsewhere. That being said, they may already have a winger in their ranks who can learn from and deputise for Mane and Salah.

Step up - Ryan Kent.

Background

Kent was born in Oldham and joined the Liverpool academy aged 7. He progressed through the ranks before becoming a regular at the U-21 level during the 2014-15 season. He was called up to the first team’s pre season tour ahead of 2015-16 and made his debut off the bench against Brisbane Roar.

He was sent on loan to Coventry City by Brendan Rodgers for the 2015-16 season before being recalled by newly appointed manager Jurgen Klopp in January 2016 for assessment. Three days later, he made his competitive debut for Liverpool as a starter against Exeter City in an FA Cup match.

The match against Exeter remains Kent’s only competitive first team appearance for Liverpool till date as he spent the 2016-17 season on loan with Championship club Barnsley where he was mighty impressive.

Barnsley finished an impressive 14th in the Championship in their first season back with Kent playing a key role. He was even named the club’s Young Player of the Season.

Style of play and strengths

Kent is quick and an excellent dribbler

Kent has the attributes to be a top winger if he develops well. The Englishman is capable of playing on either wing and more importantly is two-footed which helps him cross the ball with relative ease.

His pace on and off the ball draws a comparison to Sadio Mane. Like Mane, Kent has the ability to beat a player at will and has excellent dribbling skills to go with his tricky nature. In addition, the 20-year-old has a wicked shot on him and being two footed helps him to take a shot on goal from distance as soon as a chance opens up.

Kent is not the tallest of players but his height aids him massively just like it does with many world class players like Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard. His height gives him better ball control and dribbling abilities which are essential for a winger.

His game often involves playing one touch passes, beating his marker with his dribbling skills to open up spaces and sending in crosses from out wide. Kent loves having the ball at his feet and runs at the defenders with confidence surpassing his age.

Weaknesses

There are a lot of wingers out there with pace, dribbling skills and crossing abilities but it is the end product that makes the world class players stand out.

Despite playing 44 games for Barnsley last season, Kent only scored 3 goals and assisted 3 more. His assists tally would have been significantly better if the Barnsley strikers finished better. However, Kent still has to improve his goal-scoring record.

He is not someone who gets into attacking areas of the pitch quite often and he needs to change that to eventually force his way into the Liverpool first team.

A look at the goal-scoring record of Liverpool players from last season suggests that Klopp expects his wingers and midfielders to contribute with goals. Mane and Salah are goal-scoring wingers and Kent will have to add more goals to his game to figure in Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

What next?

Liverpool still believe that Kent has a future at the club but at his age, he needs regular game time to improve his game and Klopp cannot afford to give him that. Hence, another loan spell in the Championship looks imminent.

There is serious interest in Kent from promotion challengers Middlesbrough, Leeds United, Hull City and Derby County. Liverpool are ready to send Kent to any of these clubs on loan as they can guarantee regular playing time for the youngster. The final decision remains with the player now.

However, Kent is expected to complete pre-season with the first team squad and also sign a new contract at the club before Liverpool allow the player to leave temporarily.

If Kent can make a significant impact in the Championship this season and help his side get promoted, then he could force his way into the first team next season onwards.