Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent may have once earned Rangers around £30 million but the Ibrox duo are now set to leave for nothing when their contracts expire during the summer transfer window.
That is according to Kris Commons, the former Celtic winger who watched on as two of Rangers’ most influential attackers over the last few years once again slipped way below their previous standards during Saturday’s pulsating 3-2 Old Firm derby defeat at Parkhead.
Yes, Lady Luck clearly wasn’t on Morelos’ side on the green half of Glasgow; the Colombia international denied an early strike by a harsh VAR call. But, averaging a goal once every four games this season, 2022/23 is shaping up to be comfortably the worst of Morelos’ six seasons on Scottish soil.
With his 27th birthday approaching, meanwhile, the hope was that Ryan Kent would have ironed out the kinks in his game by now. With just three goals in 43 games in all competitions – Kent’s end-product as inconsistent as ever – the £7 million signing from Liverpool is no longer attracting admiring glances from the likes of Leeds United and Aston Villa.
Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos could leave Rangers for free
“This was confirmation that Morelos is now a shadow of the player he was a couple of years ago. He was absolutely miles off it (against Celtic). So was Ryan Kent,” Commons writes in his Daily Mail column.
“These are two guys who are supposed to be Rangers’ biggest attacking threats. But they were empty jerseys again on Saturday.
“Morelos and Kent are living off former glories. They are not offering any value to this Rangers team with their performances on the pitch. With their contracts set to expire in the summer, neither of them are doing anything that would warrant an extension.”
As things stand, it would be a major surprise if either Morelos or Kent were still Rangers players in 2023/24. Mick Beale has already expressed an interest in bringing a ‘different’ sort of striker to Ibrox. Rangers’ interest in Aris forward Luis Palma, meanwhile, may be with Kent’s departure in mind.
‘Rotten for months’
Commons adds that Rangers are paying the price for not selling either Morelos or Kent when their value was at it’s most eye-watering.
“There was a time a couple of years ago when Morelos and Kent were valued at around £30million,” he adds. “To see both of them walk out the door on a free would just typify some of the poor decisions being made behind the scenes at Rangers.
“Neither Morelos nor Kent actually deserve a new deal. They’ve been rotten for months.”
Beale, a couple of weeks ago, admitted that talks between Rangers and Kent had stalled.
“We’ve had discussions,” Beale told the Daily Record. “We’ve both parked everything until we’ve found a moment.
“We’re both cool. We’re both on the same page. And I think it’s right, after the amount of years he’s been here and the changes with his third manager here as well, that he takes time to consider his options.
“We’ve not put anything in front of him. We’ve just had conversations. At this moment in time, that’s the best place to be.”
