Liverpool will only consider permanent offers for Ryan Kent this summer, but the player’s own camp are sceptical any clubs will stump up the cash wanted.
The 22-year-old has been loaned out on five separate occasions since 2015, but the Champions League winners feel the time is right for the winger to settle.
Whether that will be at Anfield or further afield remains to be seen, but Jurgen Klopp made it clear where the Reds stand over the weekend.
"His time is over for loans," Klopp said after his side's pre-season defeat by Napoli at Murrayfield.
"At the age he is now, he needs to find a place where he can settle. We will see what happens but a loan is not planned."
While that may be the Anfield side’s ideal scenario, sources close to Kent still feel a loan may be the player’s ultimate destiny.
That is because so few clubs, especially in the latter stages of the window, are willing to offer eight-figure transfer fees with Financial Fair Play regulations looming large.
Therefore, a loan may yet be used as a last resort by the Reds in order to keep Kent playing through 2019/20 with pitch time limited with the Premier League giants.
Leeds United still hold an interest in the winger, but a permanent deal would be beyond them in this window.
If Liverpool do resort to loaning Kent out, Rangers, who are also keen, may hold the upper hand with time on their side.
The Scottish window closes on September 2, almost four weeks after the Whites’ August 8 deadline.
If the Reds push their permanent plans until the deadline, it may leave Rangers as the only remaining option.
