Kris Commons has challenged Ryan Kent to buck up his ideas as he faces a fight to start against former club Liverpool.
The 25-year-old is out of contract next summer and has endured an inconsistent run of form which resulted in boss Gio van Bronckhorst demanding more from the wide man. And Kent was a sub during Saturday's 4-0 romp over St Mirren with both Fashion Sakala and Rabbi Matondo catching the eye.
Kent's track record in Europe will see him in contention, however, the former Celtic star wants the winger to discover a perceived lack of maturity in his game and adding more goals and assists to if he is to rediscover his best against the toiling Reds in a Champions League blockbuster at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Speaking in the Daily Mail, Commons said: "Kent has been poor all season and was finally dropped on Saturday. It was a fairly public kick up the backside. This has been a long time coming for a player with whom fans are growing frustrated. Kent is out of contract at the end of the season. At the moment, he's not doing enough to justify a new deal. The only thing that would make Rangers offer him one is the fact they don't want to lose him on a free. He needs to buck up his ideas, so it'll be interesting to see if Van Bronckhorst has been able to get a reaction from him if he's back in the team for the Champions League game with Liverpool on Wednesday.
"There's a feeling that Kent can be a little bit of a show pony at times with all the fancy flicks and stepovers. But he's not providing this Rangers team with anywhere near enough end product. If you look at the player who first arrived at Ibrox on loan in 2018, has he really improved or developed all that much? I'm not so sure he has.
"There's still a sense of immaturity and naivety in his game. I don't see him as being anywhere near the same level as Jota or Abada. Kent does have talent. But he needs to show more intelligence in his play in the final third. Jota and Abada know how to attack space and get goals, whereas Kent doesn't do that. The gauntlet has been thrown down by Van Bronckhorst. It'll be interesting to see what reaction Kent offers over these next few weeks."
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