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Rangers look likely to be priced out of a move for Ryan Kent this summer, with Aston Villa showing interest ahead of the transfer window, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
What's the story?
Kent had a stellar season on loan at Ibrox from January and most Gers supporters would love to see him make a return in Steven Gerrard's second season as manager, but the chance of that appears to be growing more and more distant.
The paper reckon that Aston Villa are keen on a move for the Liverpool 22-year-old, whether they are promoted to the Premier League in Monday's play-off or not.
Dean Smith is ready to buy the player permanently in a potential £10m deal, the report states, completely pricing Gers out of a move for the winger.
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What are Rangers missing?
Kent's direct goal contribution could have been greater during his time at Rangers, but as the 2018/19 season wore on he became more and more integral to the way the team played in general, often their main attacking outlet on the left flank that gave them a foothold in the final third.
If the club are to close the gap on Celtic next season they need to retain their best players and Kent certainly fell into that category. Not being able to secure him on loan will be a real blow to Steven Gerrard's plans.
Loan downsides
Rangers have pursued loan deals for young talents for a number of years now but Kent has arguably been the greatest success of that policy to date.
Sadly the young winger's situation also highlights the pitfalls of having to rely on the loans who do become a hit at Ibrox.
There's now a big hole in the Gers squad that needs to be filled and having invested so much playing time into Kent, Rangers will reap no rewards whatsoever.
Also unable to compete with clubs impressed by his Ibrox form, it leaves questions marks about whether Gerrard should go for loans in the future or look to develop Rangers talent of his own, like Glenn Middleton.