Ryan Kent has rekindled his love affair with Rangers as he sealed a stunning £7million return.
The 22-year-old signed the paperwork to complete a whirlwind deadline day deal that was concluded just 30 minutes before the close of the window and announced bang on midnight.
Kent has signed a four-year contract after a summer-long chase finally paid dividends for boss Steven Gerrard .
Initially, Rangers appeared to have lost hope of signing the winger as Liverpool insisted they would not sanction a second temporary spell after the player spent last season at Ibrox.
However, with Kent pushing for the move amid strong interest from Belgian outfit Club Brugge, the Light Blues managed to hammer out a sensational final-day negotiation with their Anfield counterparts in the last hours of the window.
Record Sport understands a £2million down payment will be followed by instalments that will take the total fee to £7m with add-ons, an amount second only in club history to the £12m paid for Tore Andre Flo in 2000.
It is also believed Liverpool drove a hard bargain with Ibrox chiefs in terms of potential sell-on fees, with as much as 50 per cent mentioned at one stage of the detailed negotiations should he be sold in the future for more than the buying price.
Rangers stood strong and that figure was dropped significantly.
Ibrox chiefs managed to secure the deal for the 2018-19 PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year and deliver the signing their supporters had craved.
Kent, who scored six goals in 43 appearances before returning to Anfield in the summer, said: “The fans here are incredible, I’ve not come across any fans that even come close to Rangers fans.
“Throughout the whole transfer window the support from them for me to come back has been incredible and it has been overwhelming at times. So I’m just delighted to be back here and hopefully I can put on a big show for these people now.”
Despite his strong desire for an Ibrox comeback, Liverpool’s stern stance through the summer months looked set to dash his hopes.
Kent was set to fly to Belgium yesterday with the Brugge interest concrete and he could have taken part in the Champions League groups.
But the late Rangers swoop made him the club’s 11th and most expensive capture of a busy window for Gerrard.
