As the highly anticipated release of Rangers’ new Castore home kit is unveiled, there was one notable absentee from the club’s marketing promotions.
Alfredo Morelos is in Glasgow – stopping off at a Colombian coffee shop in the city’s eastend – and for all intents and purposes, the proud new father appears happy.
And yet the club’s most valued asset isn’t anywhere to be seen on any of the marketing for what is Rangers’ biggest retail campaign in a decade.
The 24-year-old Colombian striker is the Rangers talisman – the club’s goalscorer, war-bringer and most valued asset – yet you can’t help but feel a growing air of uncertainty over his future.
This could potentially be one of the reasons why Morelos isn’t being marketed around in the new kit.
Morelos may or may not be at Ibrox next season. Someone may or may not come up with the £15-£20m which Rangers want for him.
Most recently Rennes in France and Newcastle United down south have been credited with an interest. There’s talk of Qatar. So far nothing has materialised.
Morelos’ message thanking Rangers on Twitter felt ominously like a goodbye to some, whilst Steven Gerrard was just as reluctant to commit Morelos to Ibrox as anyone else seems to be.
“I suppose what you want me to say is, whether he will be here next year. That’s the million-dollar question,” said Gerrard, before reluctantly admitting every player has a price.
All of this wrapped up together suggests that if the price is right, Morelos will likely go.
For the likes of ex-Gers striker Billy Dodds it would be a step in the right direction for everyone involved and remove the distraction Morelos so often poses.
“If that kind of money comes in, I would cash in and try to go another direction,” said Dodds [BBC Sportsound].
“I’ve always said I think Rangers have to go another route when it comes to Alfredo Morelos.”
Morelos’ absence from the marketing of this new kit – which unsurprisingly focuses particularly on the highly marketable Ianis Hagi – is no sure sign of anything.
Rangers, Morelos and probably even potential suitors are in transfer limbo and no-one is exactly sure where the Colombian will be playing his football come the big kick-off.
For the time being, it remains unclear whether or not we’ll ever see the firebrand forward pull on this new Castore jersey for Rangers at all.
