Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has given his verdict on Liverpool's Ryan Kent, the young player who has been on loan at Ashton Gate.

21-year old Kent joined the Robins in January, but has made just six starts in the Championship with a further four appearances from the bench.

Having begun the season on loan in the Bundesliga with Freiburg, much was expected of the Oldham-born winger, but Johnson confirmed it has not gone to plan.

“Ryan hasn’t done it to how we would have hoped in our team for whatever reason," he told the Bristol Post. "He came into a club with big expectations and for whatever reason it hasn’t quite worked as we would have all hoped.”

With the Bristol City squad being fairly stable over the last eighteen months, Johnson has cited the challenge of breaking into that unit as a reason for the player failing to impress. However, he stressed the player's ability was not a factor, promising he's going to be a special player.

"The squad understands each other and has cohesion with each other, it's not always easy to break into that scenario. Ryan, let me tell you, is a great player. If you told me he was coming through our academy as a 20 year-old, I’d tell you he was going to be a £10m player in the next few years.”

Johnson's side are 11th in the Championship table, having struggled to maintain the early season form that saw them amongst the favourites for a top six finish.

The Verdict

I'm not sure who should worry more here, Liverpool because their player didn't integrate or Bristol City because their squad sounds a bit like a closed shop. Kent had no issues settling at Barnsley last season, nor in Germany in the first part of this campaign.

It is the job of the senior players to welcome new faces into the team and help them settle, but something has clearly gone wrong at Bristol City. Cause for concern? Perhaps a little.