Glasgow Rangers bought Ryan Kent to Ibrox from Liverpool permanently on a £7 million deal on the final day of the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old, who joined the Gers last summer on loan, enjoyed a brilliant campaign. Rangers chased him throughout the summer, but Liverpool’s asking price was proving to be a huge obstacle.
Kent did his pre-season with Liverpool, but it was soon made clear to him that he could leave the Anfield club permanently this summer.
The youngster has revealed that he was about to join Club Brugge who offered him Champions League football. In fact, he was preparing to board a Belgium-bound flight to sign for the club on the deadline day.
However, an 11th-hour phone call from Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard changed his mind. Kent always wanted to play for Rangers and return to Ibrox, and he couldn’t refuse when Gerrard personally called him.
The 22-year-old said to The Scottish Sun: “I was pretty close to getting on the flight. I was already checked in and sitting in departures at Manchester Airport.
“That’s when I got a call from my agent and the gaffer saying, ‘Don’t get on the flight’.
“I had a big smile on my face. It was probably the first time I had smiled in quite a while.
“I was just delighted. That was the call I’d been waiting for the whole transfer window and for it to finally come around was a no-brainer for me. I had to get in the car and get up here.”
That Rangers broke the bank to land their top transfer target regardless of the result against Celtic in the Old Firm derby clash 48 hours earlier only suggests that Gerrard was determined to sign the player.
The Ibrox did their best to land Kent, and now it is up to the player to justify the price-tag, and deliver on the pitch.
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