Ryan Kent has had an interesting career since leaving Liverpool in 2019, but the winger’s imminent move to Iran is by far the most outrageous twist so far.
Kent has been a free agent since October, having left Fenerbahce in frustrating circumstances, but the 28-year-old is now set for a surprise move.
He is now closing in on a switch to Iranian side Persepolis, who compete in the Persian Gulf Pro League – and according to reports he was “convinced” by the most bizarre reason.
Turkish outlet As Marca claim that Kent’s decision to move to Iran was largely due to the fact it is “legal to keep crocodiles at home.”
While this is almost unbelievable, it seemingly bears weight given previous reports that the winger had advertised for a caretaker for a pet crocodile while living in Turkey.
In a Q&A on Rangers’ Instagram last year, captain James Tavernier revealed that the club’s inter-squad Secret Santa had to be scrapped after Kent gifted one of his teammates a snake.
“The gifts were going a bit too extreme!” he said.
If Kent is snapped up by Persepolis he will strangely be reunited with one of the Fenerbahce managers who rarely used him.
Ismail Kartal was appointed by the Tehran-based side earlier this week, with Kent having clocked just 774 minutes on the pitch in 18 appearances for the Turk before losing his place.
Kent was part of the academy at Liverpool for 15 years and went on to debut for the first team in the FA Cup draw with Exeter in 2016.
But while he had been on the fringes of Jurgen Klopp‘s senior side, following loans at Coventry, Barnsley, Freiburg, Bristol City and Rangers he made the permanent move to Glasgow in 2019.
Soon after leaving he claimed he had been “lied to” by Liverpool during his efforts to join Rangers, having spent pre-season effectively on standby.
He settled in Scotland but, with his contract up in 2023, he left for Fenerbahce, where he made only 19 appearances and, having been frozen out by Jose Mourinho, saw his contract terminated in October of last year.
