Former Celtic hero labels talented Rangers star 'a show pony' and wants 'immaturity' and 'naivety' to stop

Ryan Kent has come under fire for his recent Rangers performances.

Rangers forward Ryan Kent has been called a “a bit of a show pony” by ex-Celtic player Kris Commons.

The 25-year-old Englishman was left out of the starting XI by Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst for Saturday’s 4-0 cinch Premiership win over St Mirren.

Kent is out of contract at the end of the season and despite showing flashes of his undoubted ability, the ex-Liverpool player has not hit top gear this term.

Commons believes Kent was sent a message by his boss and says “he is not doing enough to justify a new deal”.

"Kent has been poor all season and was finally dropped on Saturday," Commons, who played for Celtic between 2011 and 2017, said.

"It was a fairly public kick up the backside. This has been a long time coming for a player with whom fans are growing frustrated. Kent is out of contract at the end of the season.

"At the moment, he's not doing enough to justify a new deal. The only thing that would make Rangers offer him one is the fact they don't want to lose him on a free. He needs to buck up his ideas, so it'll be interesting to see if Van Bronckhorst has been able to get a reaction from him if he's back in the team for the Champions League game with Liverpool on Wednesday.

"There's a feeling that Kent can be a little bit of a show pony at times with all the fancy flicks and stepovers. But he's not providing this Rangers team with anywhere near enough end product. If you look at the player who first arrived at Ibrox on loan in 2018, has he really improved or developed all that much? I'm not so sure he has.”

Commons continued in his Daily Mail column: "There's still a sense of immaturity and naivety in his game. I don't see him as being anywhere near the same level as Jota or Abada. Kent does have talent. But he needs to show more intelligence in his play in the final third. Jota and Abada know how to attack space and get goals, whereas Kent doesn't do that. The gauntlet has been thrown down by Van Bronckhorst. It'll be interesting to see what reaction Kent offers over these next few weeks."