Glasgow Rangers legend Derek Ferguson has recently claimed Leeds United may have revived their interest in Ryan Kent, but the 54-time Scottish champions simply can't afford to let go of their star man in the January transfer window.

What's the word?

Steven Gerrard confirmed Rangers rejected a £10m bid for Kent from Leeds United in the summer and insisted he is not for sale.

However, Marcelo Bielsa is a big admirer of the 24-year-old, and Ferguson believes their pursuit of Aberdeen's Scott Wright could signal an Ibrox exit for Kent.

He told the Open Goal podcast: "The other thing is, we don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes at Rangers. Is somebody coming in for Kent?

"There obviously has been interest from Leeds United at certain times so maybe there’s something happening there. Maybe they look at (Wright) as a replacement."

Even though Leeds find themselves ensconced in the middle of the Premier League table, they are on the lookout to strengthen their squad by adding more pace and power to their attack.

Both Manchester City loanee Jack Harrison and Brazilian Raphinha have been in decent form this season, as The Yorkshire Evening Post's Graham Smythe has explained, but it seems the newly-promoted club are on the hunt for a new winger, as they have been linked to all and sundry, including Adama Traore and Michael Olise.

But Kent could be next on their agenda and despite Victor Orta's recent claims that the 54-time Scottish champions were difficult to deal with, Bielsa is still a big fan.

However, from Rangers' perspective, Kent is a first-team starter they simply cannot afford to lose.

Stand firm

It goes without saying that Kent is far too important for their prospects of getting their hands on the title for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Other than James Tavernier, no player has made more goal contributions than Kent in all competitions, having bagged six goals and 11 assists this season so far, via Transfermarkt. Whilst that might not seem like a lot, when you consider the fact that only five other players have scored more goals than Kent, his creative influence becomes all the more apparent.

Just to give you a better understanding of his importance, Gerrard once described him as being "fantastic to work with" after he was named the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month in September last year.

If Kent were to leave for Leeds United, his departure would create a gaping hole on the left-hand side of their attack, as it's fair to say that neither Brandon Barker nor Jordan Jones currently meet the requirements.

Indeed, both back-up options out wide have offered very little in terms of end product when it comes to the final third, with just three goals between them this season, as per Transfermarkt, which suggests that they would be incapable of filling Kent's boots should he depart Ibrox in the near future.

Without wanting to sound too dramatic, whilst Leeds could land themselves quite a coup, it would be nothing short of a disaster for Gerrard to lose one of his most prized assets at the halfway stage of the season. After all, there are simply no other options out there.

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