Steven Gerrard makes Ryan Kent admission in Leeds United's pursuit of Rangers winger

Leeds have seen a bid for the 23-year-old winger rejected with the fee believed to be in the region of £10million and United hoping to land a player they looked to sign from then parent club Liverpool last summer.

Gerrard said United were "way off" what Rangers believed to be Kent's valuation with their bid which he says was "strongly rejected."

The Gers boss also issued a "hands off" warning over a player he said was "in a good place" at present and "not for sale."

Yet Gerrard was also unable to rule out if Kent had a release clause with the 40-year-old insisting it was not his place to divulge and the former Liverpool and England captained admitted he was neither stupid or soft in looking at the overall picture in United's pursuit of his winger.

"Every player has different things in their contracts, that’s just the way it is,” said Gerrard to the Glasgow Evening Times when asked if Kent has a set release clause in his deal.

“Negotiations take place between each individual and the club and it’s not my place to divulge what is in an individuals contract.

“What I will say is that if the valuation of any player is met then as much as I would like the final say on it, it will probably be taken out of my hands.

“To be honest, I’m not really interested in reading into it whether they are going to come back or not.

"For me, it’s just a strong message that he’s not for sale.”

Despite the interest from Leeds and rejected bid, Kent still lined up for Rangers' SPL hosting of Kilmarnock on Saturday and the winger netted the second goal in a 2-0 victory.

Kent also went close to netting a fine opener in the first half when cutting inside and firing an effort towards the top corner that ‘keeper Danny Rogers tipped wide.

Gerrard praised Kent's performance but also admitted he was not oblivious to the power that Leeds now held as a newly promoted Premier League side.

"I'm a realist," said Gerrard.

"I'm not soft, I'm not stupid. I realise the power of Leeds now that they are a Premier League team. I get it.

"They have also got to respect and understand that he is one of our main players. He is a fantastic player.

“We have spent two years trying to build something here that is competitive. And he is a big part of that jigsaw.

"So he is someone that we want to fight to keep. But, you know, everyone has a number, a valuation. Right now, where it stands, Leeds are nowhere near that."

Assessing Kent’s performance after the winger netted his third goal of the season from just five games, Gerrard said: “He’s had a full pre-season and he’s worked ever so hard to get himself in tip-top shape.

“He’s fit, he’s sharp, he’s very difficult to play against when he’s at it and he’s in a really good place.

“I’m not surprised because I have followed Ryan for many, many years and I’ve seen the potential.

“But what he is doing how is he is starting to show it, week in, week out, which is fantastic to see.”

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Thank you Laura Collins