Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has explained that the Rangers Board have “stayed strong” regarding player valuations as the club reject bids for three key players over the last few windows.
Much has been made about the Ibrox club’s financial situation and previous claims from managing director Stewart Robertson that the Gers must move towards a player trading model.
There’s little doubt Steven Gerrard, Ross Wilson and those in the background at Rangers have built a squad of assets at this level, but to date, there has been no major player sale.
This problem was intensified by the club failing to reach the Champions League Group Stages, even if the Gers had only budgeted for Europa League football.
So long as the board keep backing the club then they can hold off player sales, and as Gerrard explains, much of this is down to rival clubs not yet reaching the Ibrox side’s valuation of their key stars.
“I think [players being linked with moves away] will always be the case at Rangers,” said Gerrard [Rangers].
“You always want to keep hold of your best players and the players who will give you the best chance at being successful moving forward.
“That is a little bit of me being selfish but I also understand the side of it how the business works.
“I was well prepared for my phone going at any given moment if the right bid landed for a player and the board wanted to accept that, there wouldn’t have been any resistance as long as they were happy on their side.
“This club has had some real healthy bids for our players in the last two or three windows for our players.
“To be fair to the board, they’ve stayed strong in those situations because they’ve just fell short of our valuations, ie Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
“We had some bids for Nathan Patterson that were way off his valuation in this recent window.
“The reality is the valuations from me, Ross (Wilson) and the board collectively no one has hit those numbers but from a selfish point of view, I’m happy with that situation.”
These comments mean that bids for Ryan Kent (Leeds United), Alfredo Morelos (Lille) and Nathan Patterson (Everton) did not meet the valuations set out by Rangers.
Given the club’s growth since 2012, it’s important to set the right precedent with our transfer dealings and it’s clear Rangers won’t be budged unless their terms are met.
Rangers boss Gerrard has previously talked up the assets in the Rangers squad amid a £170m+ squad valuation by a team of leading football analysts.
