Liverpool are still to make a decision on whether Ryan Kent will spend the upcoming season on loan or on the fringes of the club's first-team, amidst links to Hannover 96.

The Reds winger has attracted vast interest, including from several Championship teams, after a productive pre-season but Jürgen Klopp remains undecided on Kent's next career move.

The 20-year-old's progress earned him a new five-year contract a few months ago. It was an impressive achievement for the forward, who entered the summer shrouded in uncertainty.

Upon signing his new deal, Kent said: "I'd like to become a fully-fledged member of the team and become a regular starter. It's the team I've dreamed myself playing for since I was seven years old, so that's where I'd like to see myself in the future."

While Kent has every chance of forging himself a long-term role at Liverpool, his immediate future is likely to lie away from Merseyside, with his performances in the Audi Cup earlier this month having attracted interest from a number of Bundesliga clubs, reportedly including RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg1. Bundesliga outfit VfB Stuttgart have also been linked.

Newly-promoted side Hannover are Kent's most-likely destination should Liverpool decide to send him away temporarily, with Hannover also thought to have shown interest in signing teenage sensation Ben Woodburn on loan.

Kent tweeted, but quickly deleted, on his social media: 'I cannot wait' in German on Sunday, in a huge hint that talks between Liverpool and Hannover have conducted - and perhaps even concluded - talks already.

It is thought that the German side are ready to offer the youngster regular first-team minutes, with Liverpool likely only to sanction a move to a club that they deem suitable.

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To loan or not to loan?

Kent spent last season at Barnsley in the Championship, making 45 appearances and winning the Tykes' Young Player of the Year award in the process.

But Kent could equally remain at Liverpool and play consistently for the under-23s, also building on his single senior appearance for the Reds in domestic cup competitions given how packed a fixture schedule Klopp's charges are likely to face this term.

Kent - who has also previously spent time on loan at Coventry City - played 45 minutes as Neil Critchley's Liverpool Under-23s won 3-0 at Sunderland on Sunday and would be a huge asset to the club's youth side with his pace, technique and directness on the flank.

However, Klopp is keen to ensure that Liverpool aid Kent's development as best they can - deciding whether that means he should spend a season on the fringes of Liverpool's senior squad or another 12 months playing regular football elsewhere.

A decision will be taken on Kent's 2017-18 campaign in the coming days, with the transfer window finally closing next Thursday (August 31).  

The England youth international's only run-out for Liverpool's first-team until now came in an FA Cup clash with Exeter City back in January 2016. 

Were he to stay on Merseyside this season, Kent would surely add to that solitary run-out in either the League Cup or FA Cup.

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.