RENTON — A day after dropping serious hints about the potential signing of Ryan Kent on his weekly KJR appearance, Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer was similarly coy with reporters following Thursday’s training session.
“I said there might have been a guy named Ryan (Kent) at SeaTac,” Schmetzer said when asked about his KJR comments. “I said I might have seen him in the facility today. You guys can read into it what you want.”
Since he invited the speculation, though, all signs do seem to be pointing to the Sounders closing in on a deal with Kent. Sounder at Heart’s Niko Moreno, who first broke the news about the club being in “advanced talks” with Kent, also recently reported the player was seen at the Longacres training facility.
Presuming he passes a physical and likes what he sees at Longacres, Kent’s signing could be announced as soon as Friday.
Considering he’s not played since last July and hasn’t even been under contract since he and Fenerbahçe SK agreed to mutually part ways in October, Kent is unlikely to be in game shape. Even if comes in reasonably fit, there’s a good chance he won’t be able to play significant minutes for at least a month.
Still, Kent offers significant upside. As recently as a 2022-23, he had three goals and eight assists for Scotland’s Rangers and was attractive enough to be signed by one of Turkey’s top teams. In 2023-24, he made six starts in European competition before falling out of favor with new coach Jose Mourinho and ultimately leaving the team during the 2024-25 campaign.
“If he’s able to fit, I think this is a no-brainer,” Tom Bogert said on the podcast Soccerwise. “I think several MLS teams should have been in on this. It doesn’t mean he’s going to be a game-changing player — but I think he can be — and the risk is pretty low.”
