Rangers manager Michael Beale has appeared to land a dig on Swansea boss Russell Martin amid questions on the club’s apparent pursuit of attacker Morgan Whittaker.
The Championship side have recalled 22-year-old forward Whittaker – who mainly plays off the right but can play across the front three – after a barnstorming first half of the season with Plymouth Argyle.
Whittaker, who came through at Derby County, managed an impressive nine goals and seven assists in 25 League One games and now all eyes are on his future this January.
Rangers were linked last week and things took an interesting turn when Swansea manager Russell Martin caught Michael Beale off guard by suggesting the Welsh outfit had already rejected an Ibrox bid.
Asked about the comments after the clash with Kilmarnock in midweek, Beale was initially unaware of them and claimed that no-one at Rangers had told him a bid had been made for Morgan Whittaker.
Naturally, this had some musing over a potential Michael Beale and Ross Wilson disconnect but there was also a healthy dose of scepticism about the Russell Martin comments.
Michael Beale lands cheeky Russell Martin Morgan Whittaker dig
After Morgan Whittaker was left out of the Swansea squad for their 1-1 draw away to QPR in the Championship, the Rangers boss was once again facing questions on the attacker.
But this time Michael Beale took it as an opportunity to land one on Russell Martin – who had a failed six-month Ibrox loan stint in 2018 – after the Swansea manager had previously hinted at Morgan Whittaker’s involvement.
“I didn’t see that, Russell Martin said he would be in the squad so, I didn’t see that,” said Beale [Rangers].
However, speaking after the draw with QPR, Swansea manager Russell Martin has appeared to clarify the situation with Morgan Whittaker, who seemingly withdrew from contention himself.
The Swans boss also claimed that there are no “new bids” for the player and that he cannot see a deal being struck because of the differing valuations of the player at Ibrox and the Liberty Stadium.
Martin also appears to believe that the player will stay at the club and be back on the pitch when the window shuts within the next 10 days.
“Nothing has changed,” said Russell Martin.
“We have not received any new bids and nothing has changed except for Morgan’s frame of mind.
“We had agreed he was going to be in the squad and then Morgan told me just after my press conference on Friday that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be in the squad or to travel.
“It is disappointing, we’d have loved for him to be involved today, I think he could have made a difference, it would have been a good game for him to come on and be involved in.
“I can’t see how a deal gets done with how far apart the two clubs are.
“It’s frustrating as it just means it is longer until we can get him on the pitch with us.
“It’ll be 10 days and then the window will be closed and we can look at getting him on the pitch.”
Something tells us Michael Beale and Russell Martin don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on this and Rangers fans will be watching any Morgan Whittaker updates closely.
Meanwhile, there’s a debate raging surrounding the future of one Rangers star.
