The weather during Monday morning’s training session at the Providence Swedish Performance Center provided a comfortable setting for new signing Ryan Kent.
Underneath a sky full of familiar clouds and rain dropping overhead, the England native regained something that he has been without since October.
“Home away from home,” said Kent, after finishing his first training session with the Sounders.
Despite an illustrious five-season stint at Rangers FC, collecting 33 goals and a Scottish Premiership title (2021), the English winger found himself in a rut during his two years with Turkish side Fenerbahçe. After not seeing the field since July of 2024, Fenerbahçe and Kent mutually parted ways three months later, leaving the 28-year-old without a team up until now.
“Problems that happened the [first] year with the people above, there were certain things that wouldn't allow me to carry on playing at that club,” said Kent. “I've had a couple of difficult years in my career, probably more than anything, trying to find enjoyment in the game.”
After seven months of searching for the right fit, he decided that the Seattle Sounders would be the perfect place to not only revitalize his career, but rediscover his love for the game.
“I've turned down a lot of teams [but] ultimately, Seattle was the team for me,” said Kent. “There's a host of factors… I think more than anything, just the sort of honesty from the people I was speaking to and they're really passionate about what they do. They have a good relationship with the players, [and] just from spending a short time here, in the dressing room, that’s a great bunch of guys.”
On March 31, it was settled. Kent signed with the Sounders side till the end of the year with an option for 2026. He will be considered a roster replacement for Paul Arriola, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury on March 11 against Cruz Azul.
“Obviously, quite a unique situation for us, and you know, I was aware of Ryan, we had played together briefly with Coventry City back in 2016 and we're really familiar with each other from our time playing in Scotland,” said Assistant Coach Andy Rose. “And so, had a relationship with him, knew what a quality player he is, and given his sort of unique situation, leaving Fenerbahçe and being available, was a really interesting opportunity for us to explore.”
“So in terms of his quality,” he continued, “It was a real no-brainer in terms of what he's going to add to our squad, and overall, just really excited he's chosen to join us.”
The feeling is mutual for Kent.
“To hear the coaches say that they're looking for an exciting player, kind of made me excited in a way,” said Kent. “You go to some places, and managers want to prevent you from doing what you want to do as a player. I'm an exciting player. I like to lift bums off seats, I like to dribble, create loads of chances.”
“And, having watched the [San Jose] game the other day, the way the guys played, especially out on the wide positions, it looks like there's going to be loads of opportunities to go and run at people.”
