Leeds United will face a fight on their hands if they hope to land Liverpool winger Ryan Kent after Rangers manager Steven Gerrard reaffirmed his desire to bring the midfielder back to Ibrox.
Kent spent the 2018-19 season on loan with the Scottish Premier League outfit, where he made 43 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and picking up the club and PFA Scotland's Young Player of the Year Award.
Such form has seen him catch the eye of several suitors, with United linked as one side keen to tempt the 22-year-old to their side, while Liverpool themselves may be tempted to hand him a first team promotion.
Now however, former Reds skipper Gerrard, who enjoyed a solid first season in charge of the Gers, has confirmed that he is still keen to keep Kent on the books north of the border, while accepting that he firmly remains a member of the Merseyside club.
"Yes we would like Ryan back but the reality is he’s Liverpool’s player so we have to respect that," the 39-year-old was quoted by the Daily Record.
"Jurgen Klopp, I’m sure, will want to take a look at Ryan but we are at the table.
"We love the player, we felt we did a good job with him for 12 months and feel there’s more to come on the job we’d like to do with him.
"We’re progressing in terms of our targets and the squad is close to being finished - but we’re not finished just yet."
United look likely to confirm their first signing of the summer within the next week after it emerged that they were closing in on securing a fresh loan deal for Jack Harrison with Manchester City.
