The Ryan Kent 'extra dimension' that Rangers are yet to unlock

Traditional wingers became a taboo word towards the latter end of the Steven Gerrard era, with his recruitment reflecting a system that favoured creative No.10s over direct, dribbling wide men.

Ryan Kent was the exception to the rule, with his position repurposed accordingly, yet the 26-year-old was immediately restored to his previous role upon Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s appointment in November last year.

The former Liverpool man was an ever-present through to the end of last season, becoming a regular fixture on the left-hand side of attack as van Bronckhorst installed more width into the team. However, it is tempting to wonder whether Kent was too fixed on one side of the pitch.

It was a feature during the early days of van Bronckhorst’s reign, where Kent and the opposite winger would switch flanks frequently within games. In the 2-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle in December, Kent had a high concentration of his receptions on his ‘opposite’ side.

Fashion Sakala Jr. lined up nominally on the right-hand side that afternoon and, with Rangers looking to go over Hearts’ defensive block rather than through as Joe Aribo’s wonder goal that afternoon illustrated, it allowed Kent to consistently receive diagonal passes from Calvin Bassey.

Van Bronckhorst’s tactical identity continued to evolve last season as he became more familiar with the nuances of domestic environment in Scotland. The Dutchman’s preferred modus operandi by the end of last season was to instruct Kent to hug the touchline on the left, while the winger on the right – typically Scott Wright – would operate in a hybrid role.

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Playing on his favoured side, Wright had the capacity to go around defenders and deliver cut-backs towards the penalty spot…

…While, crucially, the 24-year-old also drifted inside to receive the ball in the right half-space, maximising the space for James Tavernier to occupy the width. His ability to take the ball on the half-turn and drive powerfully towards the penalty box was particularly effective.

Pre-season at Ibrox has seen van Bronckhorst experiment with several tactical variations, but the Dutchman has been consistent in his message that he wants his wide attackers to be “dynamic.” It is an ambiguous term in a football context, but the idea is that the wingers constantly ask questions of their opponents.

By inverting his wingers on both sides, van Bronckhorst could unlock another dimension to Kent’s game.

Comfortable on both feet, the 26-year-old often capitalises on this quality on the left-hand side by threatening to dribble inside before exploding down the outside and standing up crosses – as he did memorably in the lead up to John Lundstram’s strike against RB Leipzig last season. However, these qualities could be leveraged on the ‘opposite’ side, where shooting rather than crossing opportunities should present themselves after dribbling sequences.

Taking an example from the 2020/21 campaign under Gerrard, where Kent had a greater license to drift across the pitch as one of the twin No.10s, the 26-year-old underlines his capacity to fashion shots at goal off the right-hand side.

Receiving the ball by the touchline, he uses the decoy run of Joe Aribo around the outside to skip inside the pitch.

He drops the shoulder to shake off another defender before, despite running at full speed, he shoots accurately towards goal with his left foot.

It was a similar tale against Hibernian at Ibrox that season, with Kent scoring one of the finest goals of his Rangers career coming in off the right-hand side.

Again, he explodes away from the first defender with a stepover.

Anticipating a strike at goal, the second defender is then left flat-footed when Kent continues his run.

The winger picks out the far corner with a powerful attempt, with the linear trajectory of the strike beating the Hibs goalkeeper for pace.

Principally, the reluctance from van Bronckhorst to diversify Kent’s positioning stems from a desire to spread his attacking threats across the pitch. The danger of having the 26-year-old occupy the same side of the pitch as Tavernier is that one, or both, of their attacking instincts are curbed. Both, at the end of the day, enjoy attacking into space.

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In the example below, Kent receives in the right half-space before laying the ball back to Tavernier.

As the move develops, the Rangers captain makes a run beyond the opposition’s defensive line.

Kent, in contrast, is playing a supplementary role.

Although Gerrard’s system differs from van Bronckhorst’s, the principle of one player sitting while the other goes in football still rings true. There is a risk that Kent is pulled further away from the penalty box on the right-hand side as he and Tavernier share the attacking onus.

The 26-year-old’s suitability on the right therefore could be determined by the evolution of Tavernier’s role. The Rangers Review has written extensively on the Gers captain potentially occupying positions further inside the pitch in the upcoming season, augmenting his creative qualities while also helping the team maximise the potential of the wingers.

With Tavernier infield, the winger on the right-hand can be accessed more easily. Not only does the Gers captain provide another body in a central position to help circulate the ball, but there is a clearer passing route to the wide man on the right.

Indeed, there remains an unpredictably about Rangers under van Bronckhorst. Last summer’s pre-season was filled with soundbites from Gerrard on the risk of his system becoming predictable to opposition managers. Despite having been in the job for more than six months, van Bronckhorst approach is comparatively fresh.

Expect further evolution in the areas of the pitch that van Bronckhorst prioritises most, with the Dutchman keen to retain the element of surprise among his winger options.

Increasing Kent’s touches on the right-hand side of the attack opens up a host of new opportunities, with Rangers having yet to fully capitalise on the 26-year-old’s ambipedality across his five years at the club.