Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent will leave Rangers this summer, not good enough for Premier League transfers – pundit
Tam McManus believes there is “zero chance” of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent staying at Rangers beyond this season, he told PLZ Soccer (22 March).
Both players at currently out of contract at Ibrox at the end of the season, with their futures up in the air after Michael Beale admitted neither has been offered a new deal yet.
But while discussing their futures at the club, McManus admitted that he can’t see either man staying beyond the summer but doesn’t think either player is good enough to be playing in the Premier League next season either while predicting their next club.
“There’s zero chance of either signing on at Rangers. They’ll both leave on a free,” he said.
“Alfredo Morelos has been linked with Sevilla, they’ve just sacked their manager and are just two points ahead of relegation in the Spanish league. They could get relegated so I don’t think it’s a done deal at all.
“Ryan Kent has had a better season than Alfredo Morelos and I think he’ll pick something up in the Championship. I don’t think he’s done enough to get a Premier League club in England with his numbers, his goals and assists.
“He’s a very talented player and he goes past people but people will look at the standard up here and look at some of the teams he’s playing against and think it’s a big jump to be playing against Man United, Spurs and teams like that.
“I think he’ll land in the Championship in England and Morelos will be abroad somewhere.”
Harsh
There’s little doubt that Kent and Morelos are among the best players in Scotland when they’re both at their best, but how that would translate to another league is definitely up in the air.
Kent has been among the best performers for Rangers ever since he signed, but it does say a lot that Liverpool were willing to let him leave and that the clubs that have been linked to his signature the most are a Leeds side battling relegation and a Burnley team on the verge of promotion.
As for Morelos, his record for goals in Europe tells you he could definitely play at a higher level than Scotland can offer, but his disciplinary issues and fitness problems could certainly put teams off.
El Buffalo looks more likely to leave the club, but at this point it would be quite surprising to see Kent leave considering how much Beale is talking about him being part of the team going forward.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks and months, and we’ll have to come back to McManus’ words to see if they ring true.
In other Rangers news, another first-team player is “likely to sign” a new deal at Ibrox.