Michael Beale arrived at Rangers too late for Alfredo Morelos – Sky Sports pundit
Alfredo Morelos is still heading out of Rangers because it will take up to three months to get him back to his best, says Kris Boyd.
Michael Beale’s arrival as manager is seen to have come too late to save the Colombian striker, whose contract expires at the end of the season, but Ryan Kent could now be in line to stay at the club.
The pair were both key performers under Steven Gerrard during the new manager’s previous time at Ibrox, and former striker Boyd thinks Beale’s importance to Kent can give him a reprieve.
Boyd said in his column for Sky Sports on 29 November: “With Alfredo Morelos, it could take two or three months until he’s back to his best, so his time is perhaps up with his contract coming to an end in the summer.”
He went on: “I’ve mentioned the likes of Kent and Morelos who are in that group of players that are out of contract in the summer.
“While the end of Morelos’ Rangers career could be nearing, I think Beale’s arrival will strengthen the case to keep Kent at the club.
“Beale knows the player really well and was one of the reasons he signed at Ibrox in the first place.
“I think it’s fair if the players’ representatives want to see what else is out there in January but I think Beale could get the best out of Kent, who in recent weeks has shown he could be getting back to the levels we all know he is capable of.”
Time running out
Beale cited the 12 years of trust built up with Kent in his Sky Sports interview after arriving back at the club, and a couple of sparks shown by the 26-year-old before the World Cup break might be enough to convince the Bears board to extend him.
But if he is after big money then he could still easily be let go come the summer.
He will have to show much more than he has so far this year, having flattered to deceive for the most part while regularly being compared unfavourably to the likes of Jota and Liel Abada at Celtic.
If Morelos is too far off reaching the level to prove he is worth the investment of a new deal it is difficult to see how he gets one.
On the evidence of his past few months under Giovanni van Bronckhorst plenty of fans would have seen him leave already, but it was only last season that he was arguably in the best form of his Rangers career.
With Boyd not sold on Antonio Colak as the regular starter under the new boss, the door is ajar for Morelos to stake a claim, but there remains a suspicion that the ship may have sailed on him and Kent in Glasgow.
In other Rangers news, the club are fighting back in the latest legal battle they’ve been caught up in resulting from controversial joint plans with Celtic.