Former Hoops player and pundit Craig Beattie has claimed that Ryan Kent had a much better debut loan season in Scotland than Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, speaking on Wednesday’s edition of Clyde 1 Superscoreboard.
Beattie used the comparison as a reason Rangers paid so much money for the winger this summer, dismissing any notion that the fee makes the signing a gamble for our Scottish Premiership rivals.
BBC Scotland have reported that they paid as much as £7m for the Liverpool man, while Celtic are said to have shelled out £9m for the Frenchman last summer (Sky Sports).
Speaking on Clyde 1, Beattie said of the duo: “It’s definitely not a gamble [signing Kent]. I’m going to draw an analogy to Brendan Rodgers bringing Eduoard in on loan with the £9m permanent fee that would come.
“Kent done a lot better than what Edouard did on his loan season and I think that’s the reason it’s not a gamble.
“I also think that’s the reason that they were then able to push the £7m through on the last day of the window.”
What’s the reality?
The assertion that Kent had a much better debut season in Scotland than Edouard is absurd when you look at the attacking contribution of both.
The French striker arrived at Celtic on loan in 2017/18 and went on to score 11 goals and assist four more in just 1,259 minutes of action, which is a little under 14 full matches (Transfermarkt).
Kent in 2018/19 meanwhile managed to net just six, assisting a decent ten in addition. Although the total direct goal contribution is similar, he played a massive 3,438 minutes for Rangers (Transfermarkt). That’s more than double the time on the pitch that Edouard was given.
Edouard is also 14 months younger than the Ibrox man and is currently showing far more potential. He’s scoring in big matches, delivering trophies and lighting up European opponents.
Whatever point Beattie thinks he’s making, it’s wrong.
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