Noel Whelan has said that Ryan Kent's future at Glasgow Rangers may be taken out of manager Steven Gerrard's hands.

Leeds United have been heavily linked with the 23-year-old winger, with them even having a £10m bid rejected by the Ibrox outfit. Kent has had a fantastic start to the new campaign, scoring three goals and creating two in his first six games of the season, but when asked about his future with the 54-time Scottish champions, he failed to fully quash any rumours of a departure.

Talking to Football Insider, Whelan believes that Gerrard may have no say in the £3.15m-valued man's future (as per Transfermarkt). He said:

"It was not a definite no from Ryan and every player is for sale at a certain price.

"I am sure that Steven Gerrard would love to keep him there because he knows him from his Liverpool times, that is why he bought him in the first place but sometimes it is out of a managers hands. If a decent offer comes in from a Premier League club they may have to let him go.

"Rangers need to have a player on standby to come in and fill that void."

Gerrard, of course, will do all he can to keep one of his star players at the club, but as Whelan says, if a bid matches the 54-time Scottish champions' demands, it will be hard to keep hold of Kent - after all, the Premier League is a significant step up in quality.

At some point, Kent will leave, but keeping him this term is vital. The Gers have a real chance of winning the Premiership this season - they currently top the table and have not yet conceded a goal. To do so, they will need to keep their best players at the club, and Kent definitely falls into that category.

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