By George Overhill

30th Jun, 2022 | 10:22pm

Rangers could sign Alfredo Morelos to new contract and sell him anyway - Kenny Miller

Rangers should make signing Alfredo Morelos to a new deal their top target but they could still sell him afterwards, according to Kenny Miller.

The Colombian striker is attracting transfer interest once again, with La Liga side Sevilla the main suitors.

An offer of €8million from Spain was reported by El Quiringuito TV last week (22 June), while suggesting that El Bufalo “likes the option”.

This bid has since been disputed but former Ibrox forward Miller believes that the price quoted would probably be the “maximum” the club could get for him with just one year left on his contract.

While keeping the goalscorer is seen as the priority Miller believes it would be worth getting a new deal done and selling the 26-year-old anyway since it would allow the Gers to bank far more in transfer fees.

He told the Go Football Show, via the Daily Record: “Firstly, I would sign him. That would be number one.

“If you sell him afterwards you are in a better position to get more money. With a year left, you are not going to get the market value that a player who has scored the amount of goals, and put in the level of performance that he has, deserves.

“If he can score the goals that get Rangers to the Champions League, then absolutely keep him, but there is no guarantee of that.

“It has been one league out of five, and one cup out of 10 for Alfredo. There is no guarantee that he will score the goals to bring that type of success.”

Logic

It is absolutely the right idea to get a deal done with Morelos either way from the club’s point of view because seeing their talisman walk out the door for a knockdown price is not want Ibrox officials or fans want.

Much depends on the player’s feelings in Glasgow, since if he was hell-bent on leaving as soon as possible he obviously wouldn’t agree, but that seems unlikely.

If there is a strong enough market now he could even extend it by a single season and net the Gers a better fee without pricing himself out of a move.

He doesn’t necessarily owe the club anything, but coming off thigh surgery at the end of arguably his best season as a professional there is plenty to say that he would be better placed with another year with the Light Blues, even if he has ambitions to move on after that.

The club are in position to force their way into the Champions League via the qualifying round again and after the run to the Europa League final Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s players must be in a better shape to do so than last year.

A tilt in the continent’s top competition if they can get there is a draw in itself, while coming off his injury in an environment where he is comfortable and loved by the supporters would be preferable in some respects than trying to do so in a new league for the first time in five seasons.

It would give him the best opportunity to get back up to top form, something which the arrival of the Bears boss and coach Roy Makaay boosted in the recently-completed campaign.

If after that he wants to go then there would likely be more options for him and the club would presumably grant his exit for a reasonable price.

In other Rangers news, one Ibrox midfielder is set to leave on loan this summer as English and Scottish interest mounts.