How Rangers navigate Alfredo Morelos transfer saga could shape their future

The Colombian is Rangers’ most important player by far but his sale could be the catalyst for the club finally closing the gap on Celtic

Rangers' Alfredo Morelos celebrates scoring (PA)

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Kilmarnock should have been just another typical matchday for Rangers. The Ibrox club claimed a comfortable win over the Ayrshire side, with an opening goal from new signing Kemar Roofe along with Ryan Kent’s third in five games. Steven Gerrard’s post-match press conference should have been a simple formality. It wasn’t.

Prior to the match the former Liverpool captain had set the internet ablaze with his decision to drop star striker Alfredo Morelos from his entire matchday squad. Following speculation and reports of persistent offers from Lille, the demotion suggested a move was imminent.

However, Gerrard had an alternative view on the matter. “I only want players who are hungry for the shirt,” said the Rangers manager, before adding that Morelos was no longer “really, really hungry to get this football club results.”

This isn’t the first time Gerrard has publicly criticised Morelos. The Colombian striker was sent off five times in his first season at Ibrox, including a crucial dismissal in a 2-1 defeat to Celtic which led to Gerrard stating that he “can’t defend him any more.” That disciplinary record did improve the following season but Gerrard was once again forced to publicly lambast the Colombian in February, when he returned home late from a trip to Colombia and missed crucial preparations for Rangers’ Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts.

However, while Morelos’ attitude may not have changed, his club’s reliance on him certainly has. In the 2018/19 campaign the Colombian scored almost twice as many goals as the club’s next, highest goal scorer – full-back and penalty taker James Tavernier. Gerrard tried to combat that the following season with the loan signing of Jermain Defoe, however the 37-year-old was never more than a stopgap and by no means a bona fide replacement, despite his evergreen proficiency in front of goal.

The Rangers manager finally got the strength in depth and genuine alternatives he desired this summer when Kemar Roofe and Cedri Itten joined from Anderlecht and St Gallen respectively. Whether their arrival heralds the departure of Morelos to France is yet to be seen, but it certainly releases Gerrard from a troublesome dependency on the striker.

Selection headaches aside, there are other reasons why a potential transfer to Lille for Morelos may brighten the mood at Ibrox. And they could, ultimately, prove to be far more important.

The current incumbents of the Rangers boardroom have done well to say the right things, act the right way and, for the most part, provide the necessary capital to get Gerrard’s side to a comfortable second place in the Scottish Premiership. However, there’s only so far that investment can go.

While Rangers may have seen their revenue jump from £31million to £51m in the club’s last accounts, Celtic’s stood at around £87m and would have surpassed £100m had they qualified for the Champions League. A financial gap that Rangers’ investors have, understandably, failed to make up for.

There are plenty of factors that allow Celtic to make more money than Rangers – a stranglehold on Scotland’s entry to the Champions League being the most obvious one – but one facet of the modern game that the Ibrox club have yet to take advantage of is the development and sale of players.

Since Rangers’ departure from the top flight, Celtic have regularly profited from the sale of key players like Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk, Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Dembele and, most recently, Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal. In that period the highest fee Rangers have received was just under £2m, which they received for Josh Windass’ move to Wigan.

Alongside regular paychecks from Uefa, it has been Celtic’s clever scouting and transfer dealings that have allowed the club to profit on the balance sheet and then on the pitch at Rangers’ expense. And until the Ibrox side can prove they have the ability to make similar sums from Europe’s top clubs they may struggle to ever catch their rivals.

Morelos has been hugely important to Rangers (Getty)

That’s where Morelos comes back into the picture. Along with Kent – who remains the subject of keen interest from Leeds – the Colombian forward could prove to be the first major sale Rangers make since returning to the top flight.

The club are believed to be holding out for £20m for Morelos. Which, along with being a sizeable amount to add to the bank balance, would undoubtedly symbolise Rangers’ transformation from major rebuild to a club that can develop young players and sell them on, like most forward-thinking clubs in Europe.

While it may seem counterproductive to sell a club’s best players in pursuit of their rivals, the modern game demands that clubs like Celtic and Rangers must maximise their profits from player sales to make up for the lack of extraordinary broadcast deals. Long-term financial gains must take priority over short-term footballing decisions.

Gerrard may have taken Rangers to a certain level with Morelos’ goals but the club will be well aware of the fact that they can’t reach the next step and truly compete with Celtic in the long run if they can’t now sell their star striker for the right price.