Topic: Ryan Kent

[ThePeetmix]

Definitely good to have around for sure. Deepens the squad and and provides a more natural wing option. Something that could be useful against packed defences.

I want to see what Klopp can mould him in to.

[Nessy76]

Exceptional bit of skill in the build up to the phantom goal. Showed great composure given the quality of opposition. If you can do it to Bayern...

[Old No7]

I've been pleasantly surprised by him. I anticipated Ojo would be the one to make an impression for the first team this season, but it could be Kent instead. I think he's a decent depth option because he'll be happy with whatever role he plays and can offer some of what Salah and Mane can with their pace. He'll need to add more end product long term but he created the disallowed goal today and looked very lively. 

This. Thought Ojo might get a role this season but looks like the year of first team football at Barnsley has done Kent the world of good, he cold definitely be an occasional option for us this year. Similarly if Ojo does go out on loan then hopefully it does the same for him

[[new username under construction]]

Sometimes looks nervous to me, obviously that's to be expected but once he settles those nerves and feels more at home in the team...to demand the ball etc I think he'll be very good for us. From the outside looks like he has enough to go a long way, guess it's down to Mr K as he knows what he's like in training etc

[Dim Glas]

Was going to mention that, but didn't want to make the comparison, as I think Kent has so much more game intelligence.

Would be interested to see what Reus was like at 20 y/o, it's a lazy comparison with Klopp as manager, but there's a few similarities.

Reus was 23 when he signed for Borussia Dortmund.
By the age of 20 he'd already played his first full season in the Bundesliga scoring 10 goals.  He was a bit of a young superstar!

I like the look of Kent, I hope he stays, I think he will, all the young lads that went to the training camp in Germany will stay I think.

[BabuYagu]

Was going to mention that, but didn't want to make the comparison, as I think Kent has so much more game intelligence.

Would be interested to see what Reus was like at 20 y/o, it's a lazy comparison with Klopp as manager, but there's a few similarities.

Reusīproduction was 0,30 G+A (aged 19 in German equivalent of Championship), 0,43 G+A (aged 20 in Bundesliga), 0,60 G+A (aged 21), 0,95 G+A/90 (aged 22).

I mentioned yesterday, those are the sort of numbers Asensio put up last season in his 1300 minutes for Madrid which makes me think he is on the path to being an elite producing forward player.

Getting 0,25+ from Kent in his debut season in the Premier League would be a great start. I donīt have expected goals and assists back then which are good for showing variance and sustainability for people like Zaha whose numbers go from 0,27 > 0,11 > 0,47. Many think he had a breakout season but his expected numbers consistently sit between 0,25-0,31. Thatīs all we need from Kent this season. Production comes later for young forwards. Itīs just about getting minutes into them at the moment and seeing some something to suggest they can produce in later years - which was the problem with Ibe.

As for the running beyond the forward thing. I would suggest this could very well be something carried over from his time at Barnsley. They went long far too much. He became the guy who would come short and offer penetration & creativity rather than just going direct. Therefore he is behaving like a Coutinho type forward than a Salah type forward at the moment.

I was looking around today for a comparison for Kent and ended up on Asensio. If we can get a similar season as that, weīd be laughing. Asensio had about 10 starts and another 10+ cameos (1300 minutes total in league and champions league). I wouldn't expect the same output but just someone who could take some minutes off the stars and pick up 10-15 games worth of pitch time.

In terms of output, Asensio got 6 goals and 3 assists (0,61 G+A/90) which is well on the path for an elite versatile forward player aged just 21. We canīt expect that of Kent yet clearly, so what of other young wingers in the EPL? Rashford, by way of comparison was 0,31 G+A/90 in the league (0,36 if you include Europa League). Some of those minutes were playing CF too which usually results in better output.

Zahaīs last 3 seasons have been 0,27 G+A/90 (age 21), 0,11 (age 22) and 0,47* (age 23).

His numbers are a good example of how variance can make players appear better or worse than they actually are. Therefore judging him on last season comes with the red flag that his expected numbers were much lower which means he may just have been a result of variance. His expected numbers based on the quality of chances he created and shots taken were actually 0,31 G+A/90 (age 21), 0,26 G+A/90 (age 22) and 0,30 (age 23) G+A/90.

So what should we expect of Ryan Kent? If he does hang around next season, expecting a goal or assist every 4 games or better would be a great start. Therefore if he gets about 1,000 mins of football you are asking for maybe 1 or 2 goals and the same number of assists. It doesnīt sound a lot but that would put him on the path to being a solid Premier League winger and around about what we would realistically get from someone like Zaha if he signed and only played the same amount of time. Likewise, Demarai Gray on 0,25 expected goals + assists per 90 and Albrighton on 0,22 show you what an average wingers production would look like in the Premier League.

[tubby]

Is Rafinha back from the shops yet?

[joekim87]

Kent looks the good. Quick and seems a bit feisty. Loving his left foot corners. I'd be more than happy to see him play first backup to Salah and Mane this season.

[Marty McFly]

Likewise keen on Kent, interesting info on the stats above and he defo passes the eye test.

Saw a debate raging in the ASSHAT general transfers forum and honestly I cannot fathom why would prioritise another winger here, unless he were versatile enough to come in at both ACM and either wing and therefore filling two squad options without being a transfer budget priority. The Ox would be in the top bracket of what I'd be happy for us to pay for, or an equivalent with perhaps a better injury record.

We have the likes of Kent and Ojo (and Wilson / Woodburn)  at our disposal... Kent's being making the most of his preseason chances and fully deserves a look in this year after his performances at Barnsley.

In terms of signing squad players for wing positions - and specifically on the absence of Mané and/or Salah - they just won't every enough going to get into the team ahead of the likes of Phil, Lallana, Origi, etc... And in the case of rotation for the lesser cups, unexpectedly widespread injury crises and otherwise through sheer merit, we absolutely need to be giving these players their chances where possible and when in form

Seriously liking the look of Kent atm. Keep it up son.

[ThePeetmix]

The kid has got some cohonies for sure. Can see how much he's developed from youth football but kept that bravery of always looking to committ a player.

Any player who takes a corner with their left and then a penalty with their right is fine by me.

[dogeibbor]

The kid has got some cohonies for sure. Can see how much he's developed from youth football but kept that bravery of always looking to committ a player.

Any player who takes a corner with their left and then a penalty with their right is fine by me.

Yeah, you don't see that much do you? Looks to have great potential, can't wait to see him play in the cups.

[ThePeetmix]

Yeah, you don't see that much do you? Looks to have great potential, can't wait to see him play in the cups.

I just don't hope he gets chucked in with a full second string side. Have him playing with the likes of Sturridge, Gini, Lallana and one of Mane/Salah and he'll develop a lot more.

[seal75]

The kid is good. Filled with more confidence and with a bit of experience, he can become very good.

[redmark]

The kid has got some cohonies for sure. Can see how much he's developed from youth football but kept that bravery of always looking to committ a player.

Any player who takes a corner with their left and then a penalty with their right is fine by me.

He took corners with both, inswinging from either side. Proper two footed player. Gets a decent height and whip on the ball, too.

[Dubred]

The kid has got some cohonies for sure. Can see how much he's developed from youth football but kept that bravery of always looking to committ a player.

Any player who takes a corner with their left and then a penalty with their right is fine by me.

Ha!  I missed the penalty shootout.  Did he really do that?  And scored I presume?

Now thats confidence! 

Really hope we keep him at the club this season.  Honestly, I've loved what we've seen of him so far and he seems so determined to get better.....and thats half the battle.

[Medellin]

Last season's progression & he seems to be building on that tell me he should be staying here and not loaned out.

[Yesitsanextender]

The lad has big potential, direct a bit raw but can create a problem with his speed and crosses. deffo needs to to be round the first team this season, thought he was good overall last night too.

[Chalky Boots]

Ha!  I missed the penalty shootout.  Did he really do that?  And scored I presume?

Now thats confidence! 

Really hope we keep him at the club this season.  Honestly, I've loved what we've seen of him so far and he seems so determined to get better.....and thats half the battle.

Yeah. He's naturally right footed so he took the penalty with his right but any set-piece that's on the right hand side of the pitch he takes with his left. Remember Luis Garcia used to do that as well but he wasn't anything like as consistent as Kent is with the delivery.

[BabuYagu]

He took corners with both, inswinging from either side. Proper two footed player. Gets a decent height and whip on the ball, too.

I would argue his left footed corners were better than his right footed ones.

Really hope he makes it. Has so many tools to his game for a kid already. Imagine what a full season training and playing ~1000 minutes with the likes of Coutinho etc will bring out of him.

[El Denzel Pepito]

I would argue his left footed corners were better than his right footed ones.

I do the same, right-footed for everything else but my left foot is better at whipping the ball in from dead situations.

Can I sign for Liverpool now?

[Djozer]

I'm hideously right-footed but for some reason was always better at volleying with my left.

That two-footedness is a hell of an asset. You could see it a bit when he was on the right and cut inside, it must make it a lot harder for defenders. Are we thinking he's going to be kept around this season then? I'd like to see it, personally. There will definitely be gametime for someone out wide this season given the number of games that we should have and seeing that he seems relatively comfortable on either side, it would probably make more sense to keep Kent around than Wilson or Ojo (though I guess they can also play both sides too, from the little I've seen).

He's great to watch and causes problems for the opposition. I don't know how good his end product is, didn't seem great at Barnsley but as some have said, that may be down to Barnsley being as negative as they are. I seem to remember him being fairly productive at youth levels so hopefully it can translate to senior footy to some extent, though I'm pretty sure he also used to dribble into heavy traffic a lot too. Hopefully as he matures he'll learn when to run with the ball and when to pass it as such decision making must be coachable. If he can put it all together I think there's a very good player there, potentially.

[BabuYagu]

I do the same, right-footed for everything else but my left foot is better at whipping the ball in from dead situations.

Can I sign for Liverpool now?

Maybe. You have to also be able to feint your way past  a Brazilian international full back and carry a Championship side on your back for a year

[MartinSkrtelsBasement]

Technically he appears quite gifted, looking forward to seeing if he progresses in the coming season.

I can see him having a few cameos here. Still an unknown quantity to some degree so can certainly provide an option from the bench.

Think the rhetoric of him failing at Barnsley is a bit of a myth. He seemed to hold his spot down and win the Young Player of the Year in a struggling side. So many talented youth players drift off the radar on loan spells, so I reckon the above constitutes a success.

[Fordy]

Seems like he will be staying with us next season which is good.

[Djimi Smicer34]

I think he overdoes it with the step-overs at times but that's a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things and could be put down to inexperience and him just wanting to make an impression.  Overall he's had a good pre-season and it looks as though he's played himself into the manager's plans for the first-team.  If that is the case then I hope we see him get some opportunities in the PL, get him on the pitch at the highest level and see what he can deliver. 

I've always been a fan of his and he proves that the right loan move can do a young player the world of good. 

[vivabobbygraham]

I am absolutely delighted for the lad as he now finds himself very definitely in the managers plans going forward. A great example of how hard graft, dedication and belief in your own ability can overcome all obstacles in life. Go 'ed, Kent, knock 'em dead, lad

[BabuYagu]

I think he overdoes it with the step-overs at times but that's a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things and could be put down to inexperience and him just wanting to make an impression.  Overall he's had a good pre-season and it looks as though he's played himself into the manager's plans for the first-team.  If that is the case then I hope we see him get some opportunities in the PL, get him on the pitch at the highest level and see what he can deliver. 

I've always been a fan of his and he proves that the right loan move can do a young player the world of good.

Not always - but today he definitely was trying too hard and everything he tried just didnīt come off. He should have taken that shot on at the end too. No idea why he delayed. He will get better though.

Not a comparison in skill, but I remember the first time I saw Ronaldo he seemed to try a trick every time he touched the ball to the point where he just looked totally ineffective at times. Once he got older and learned to use them sparingly for greater affect he looked a different player.

[Suareznumber7]

Not always - but today he definitely was trying too hard and everything he tried just didnīt come off. He should have taken that shot on at the end too. No idea why he delayed. He will get better though.

Not a comparison in skill, but I remember the first time I saw Ronaldo he seemed to try a trick every time he touched the ball to the point where he just looked totally ineffective at times. Once he got older and learned to use them sparingly for greater affect he looked a different player.

It's all inexperience.  He's got some great technique and now just needs to learn how to make the most of his skills. 

[[new username under construction]]

Not always - but today he definitely was trying too hard and everything he tried just didnīt come off.

Thought Gomez had a similar game, little jittery today but both will get there i think

[lamonti]

Tried too hard today, like someone said above. Got absolutely no help from Jon Flanagan either. Still got a great touch.

[jillcwhomever]

Overall he has had a good pre-season. There is no doubt that the loan deal worked for him and he gained a huge amount of benefit from it. It will be interesting to see what happens this season. Think he has a really good first touch, we need to work on his consistency but I'm sure that will come with time and more experience on the field. If he goes on and makes more progress then we could have the makings of a useful player.

[Asam]

Fair play to him, always looked talented, the year at Barnsley has done him the world of good and helped Him to mature

[newterp]

Still going to have to fight for a place week in and week out.

[nellyp]

I thought he looked better in earlier games when his tricks were more successful but, as has been pointed out, once he learns to pick and choose his step-overs and picks opportunities to dribble into space, I think he will be awesome (as long as the development continues). I kinda think he is trying to be Rhonaldo, but it is a bit early yet.

Do you think that it was the players he was linking up to in the previous games that brought the best out of him?

[Djimi Smicer34]

Not always - but today he definitely was trying too hard and everything he tried just didnīt come off. He should have taken that shot on at the end too. No idea why he delayed. He will get better though.

Not a comparison in skill, but I remember the first time I saw Ronaldo he seemed to try a trick every time he touched the ball to the point where he just looked totally ineffective at times. Once he got older and learned to use them sparingly for greater affect he looked a different player.

I agree, it's nothing that cannot be put down to the exuberance of youth at this stage in his development.  It's great he has that ability in his locker and when it comes off, like it did last week against Bayern Munich when he ruined Rafinha and set up Grujic for our disallowed goal, it is fantastic to watch. 

He's got the right manager to sort that aspect of his game out and help him to improve his decision making.  But I like his confidence on the ball and his willingness to be direct going forward.  With experience and further coaching, better judgement will hopefully follow.

[BabuYagu]

I thought he looked better in earlier games when his tricks were more successful but, as has been pointed out, once he learns to pick and choose his step-overs and picks opportunities to dribble into space, I think he will be awesome (as long as the development continues). I kinda think he is trying to be Rhonaldo, but it is a bit early yet.

Do you think that it was the players he was linking up to in the previous games that brought the best out of him?

Not really. When he destroyed Rafinha - who is an international right back for Brazil now - he set up Grujic. The difference was he tried something and it came off. With tricky players, they tend to look stupid when they are trying stuff that isnīt coming off. People think they are great when it is though.

A good example would be David Dunn. I remember he had a string of games once where all his tricks were coming off and he looked great, especially on a highlights based show like MoTD. There was clamouring for an England callup. In isolation, those 3 assists in 2 months looked great. The warning that it was merely a purple patch was that in his entire career, he only had 13 assists in 250+ games. Basically 1 assist every 20 games. When you factor in he was a setpiece taker, itīs possible that very little of those assists from from open play.

Thankfully Kent is nothing like that. For one thing he is very tactically smart and knows how to use his pace to stretch teams. I also think the Barnsley game showed him how not to get isolated from games on the wing. Dunn, however, was just a player who had good technique and had tricks. There was very little substance to his game. He didnīt know how to use what he had to create for his team. He was pretty much valued as a footballer purely on what you saw in match of the day. When on fire, he looked great. When not, he probably didnīt feature much at all in their highlights. Because why show a player doing stepovers and losing the ball 5 times a game?

The key for Kent is not to base his game on tricks. He needs to be tactical first, then technical, then flair. Dunn was Flair, then Technical. Never saw tactical at all. Btw - in many ways this describes Barkley too. Tactically useless. England seems to have a habit of producing these sorts of players.

[redmark]

Flair, then Technical. Never saw tactical at all. Btw - in many ways this describes Barkley too. Tactically useless. England seems to have a habit of producing these sorts of players.

To be fair, your point regarding how we over-analyse our own players probably extrapolates here, too. I'm sure Spanish/Dutch/Italian/French/Brazilian B teams and lower leagues are full of technically gifted players who never go on to apply that to the benefit of the team. Possibly not Germans, though.

[BabuYagu]

To be fair, your point regarding how we over-analyse our own players probably extrapolates here, too. I'm sure Spanish/Dutch/Italian/French/Brazilian B teams and lower leagues are full of technically gifted players who never go on to apply that to the benefit of the team. Possibly not Germans, though.

I do wonder how far tactically limited players would get in other countries. Iīm going to have to pay attention to this now too next year. Barkley is interesting as he is the creative force for a top 7 Premier League team and arguably now their best player post-Lukaku. I wonder how many other top half sides in the countries listed have similar players?

I can promise you that is true for Brazilians. I watch a lot of lower league stuff out here. Every single team has a player I want to sit down and teach them how to use their skillset to help the team rather than show off.

[redmark]

I do wonder how far tactically limited players would get in other countries. Iīm going to have to pay attention to this now too next year. Barkley is interesting as he is the creative force for a top 7 Premier League team and arguably now their best player post-Lukaku. I wonder how many other top half sides in the countries listed have similar players?

As soon as I'd posted it I realised the gap in my own point - in most countries, a Barkley might star in a 'Championship' side, or even a lower-midtable top division side, but yeah - how many teams in the challenging-for-European places would take him? But then I suspect Spurs would see him as cover for Alli, not a regular starter. But I'd guess there are a few around Europe doing so, just by the law of averages. They'll be the ex-big name wonderkids we constantly see taking a step down having 'not progressed' by their mid-20s.

But Kent... I've not seen much of him at youth level (now that I've subscribed to LFC TV again, I intend to remedy this for the next generation) or at Barnsley, but I like what I've seen in pre-season. He appears to have a level of belief and maturity that's essential for that next step.

[7777]

Not really. When he destroyed Rafinha - who is an international right back for Brazil now - he set up Grujic. The difference was he tried something and it came off. With tricky players, they tend to look stupid when they are trying stuff that isnīt coming off. People think they are great when it is though.

A good example would be David Dunn. I remember he had a string of games once where all his tricks were coming off and he looked great, especially on a highlights based show like MoTD. There was clamouring for an England callup. In isolation, those 3 assists in 2 months looked great. The warning that it was merely a purple patch was that in his entire career, he only had 13 assists in 250+ games. Basically 1 assist every 20 games. When you factor in he was a setpiece taker, itīs possible that very little of those assists from from open play.

Thankfully Kent is nothing like that. For one thing he is very tactically smart and knows how to use his pace to stretch teams. I also think the Barnsley game showed him how not to get isolated from games on the wing. Dunn, however, was just a player who had good technique and had tricks. There was very little substance to his game. He didnīt know how to use what he had to create for his team. He was pretty much valued as a footballer purely on what you saw in match of the day. When on fire, he looked great. When not, he probably didnīt feature much at all in their highlights. Because why show a player doing stepovers and losing the ball 5 times a game?

The key for Kent is not to base his game on tricks. He needs to be tactical first, then technical, then flair. Dunn was Flair, then Technical. Never saw tactical at all. Btw - in many ways this describes Barkley too. Tactically useless. England seems to have a habit of producing these sorts of players.

Come on mate, some of the youngsters won't know the magical David Dunn. At least share one of his better moments.