Inside Kent and Morelos’ Rangers contract D-day choices

The duo are free to talk to potential suitors given their contracts expire in the summer.

Speaking after last week’s win over Kilmarnock, Kent confirmed his intention to hold discussions with Rangers boss Michael Beale.

“No decisions on my future have been made as of yet,” he said. “I'm concentrating on the remainder of the season. I am sitting down with the manager and discussing my future.”

Of the two, it’s fair to assume Kent is the player most Rangers supporters would like to see extend their stay.

That’s a view echoed by Kenny Miller, who enjoyed three spells in Govan. When asked whether the duo deserve enhanced contracts, he told the Rangers Review: “If you had asked me this a few months back I would’ve said I’m not too sure.

“I know you’ve got the age-old argument of protecting your investment and giving someone a big meaty expensive contract for the next three seasons when they’re actually not really performing to the level you would expect.

“Now, I still think there’s a bit of that to weigh up. Do you want to give them the big improved contract when you’re maybe quite not seeing the levels?

“I think Alfredo is a bit different to Ryan Kent. The reason is the value for money in Alfredo signing is he’s now gone probably five, six-fold or ten-fold what you actually paid for him and what you’ve actually got by him performing and scoring goals, particularly over the European runs in the last few years.

“He’s going to have been a really good value signing no matter what and I think if he was to sign another contract then you were to sell him, you’re still going to make up to six times your money if you were to eventually sell him.

“I can understand signing him and I can also understand if he wanted to move on.

“It’s not about the club wanting to do it, I think the club will want to do it, I just wonder 'does Alfredo look at this as the right time to move and try something different on a free transfer?'.

“Ryan Kent’s a bit different in that they’ve paid a lot of money for him and I still think the value for money is not as great as Alfredo has been.

“Ryan’s a wonderful player and I really like him. I’m thinking, as a fan, like everybody, you want to see it on a more consistent basis.

“You want to see his flashes, not be flashes. You want these flashes to be constantly present during a game.

“In the Europa League run to the final last year, he was unbelievable against Leipzig and against Dortmund, this is the elite level of football.

“It is a bit of a generic way of thinking that if he’s doing it against them, why’s he not doing it against Ross County and Motherwell?

“But it’s a different game and it’s a different challenge that he’ll face playing in those games.

READ MORE: How Ryan Kent's Rangers freedom 'spooked' Kilmarnock's defensive plan

“In the European games against the big teams, there is a little bit more space. There’s maybe not so much emphasis on stopping him as what there is in the domestic game. But, that being said, his performance at Dortmund, particularly away, was absolutely outstanding and that’s what he’s capable of.

“His abilities are never in doubt because you see it. I just don’t think you see it enough.

“Again, Ryan might think he may want to find his way back down to England at Premier League level where I’m sure he believes he belongs then maybe this is a chance for him to get that opportunity on a free transfer.

“It’s not good news for Rangers to find yourself in this situation and I’m sure they’re working tirelessly behind the scenes.

“Michael, because of the relationships he’s got with the players, Ross Wilson as the director of football and the club as a whole will be trying to convince these guys that Rangers is the place for them.

“But there are always two sides to it and I do see both sides. I’ve lived both sides as well so I understand what the players are thinking at the moment but what I also would say to them is sometimes the grass is not always greener and I’ve experienced that as well.

“If you leave, you’re leaving a wonderful football club. They’re absolutely adored by the fans and you’re leaving a club that’s competing. There are demands put on you to go and win and be successful.

“With the greatest of respect to them, I don’t think they’ll go to that type of club if they’re coming back down to England or somewhere else.

“There’s a lot to be said for having that expectation on your shoulders to win trophies and win games every single week. I’m talking from personal experience.”

Miller has first-hand experience of playing alongside Morelos. The pair built up a partnership during the ill-fated Pedro Caixinha era.

The Colombian has come in for heavy criticism this season from supporters and pundits alike but Miller reckons the return of Beale may just see El Bufalo rediscover his best form.

“The role that he’s done for Rangers over the years, he’s done really well,” he said. “When I played with him, I was playing more off him so I was playing like the second striker which I was more than happy to do. That suited the way I wanted to play and it suited the way the team played.

“Alfredo’s a focal point. I think he’ll be happy that Michael’s back and I think the improvements came due to the fact he’s now playing. He was finding minutes really tough to come by because of the form of Antonio Colak.

“The improvements have come about because he’s now found himself in the team, he likes to be the main man, he likes to be that number 9 and that focal point for Rangers and loves scoring goals.

Alfredo Morelos and Kenny Miller in action for Rangers (Image: SNS)

“You can’t see it on his face but you can tell he loves scoring goals. I would love to see him smile a wee bit more but that all goes into this character that he’s created when he goes onto the pitch.

“He does take it as a personal battle against any back three, back four that he’s playing against. It’s his job to go and ruffle their feathers and cause them problems. He’s done it really well over the five, six years that’s been at the club. His performances and the number of goals that he’s scored you can never deny that.

“Because he wasn’t getting game time and minutes he maybe wasn’t as fit or as sharp as what he could be. He’s someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. You can tell when Alfredo’s not happy and sometimes even his conditioning you can maybe tell as well but that’s going to improve no doubt with the game time and the fact he’s maybe in a happier place and the fact he’s now starting games and scoring goals again.”

Rangers have yet to taste defeat under Beale since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst with the Light Blues recording eight wins and a draw since his arrival from QPR.

Miller, who was recently appointed assistant boss at Huddersfield Town, says the future is bright with Beale at the helm.

“There has been a bit of a bounce,” he said. “I still speak to a few of the players and there has been that bounce factor.

“Individually, I think there’s a lot of players pretty happy that Michael’s back at the club. I think they really enjoyed working with him in his previous spell as assistant to Steven. With him now as the manager, they’re enjoying working with him again.

(Image: NQ)

“He knows the players inside out. When you look at some of the key players that potentially hadn’t been performing towards the end of Gio’s reign, particularly this season. Your Kent’s, Morelos’, Ryan Jack’s, Glen Kamara’s and even John Lundstram, I think his levels had dropped from last season.

“I think they’ll all be happy that they’re back working with Michael again. He knows what buttons he can press to make them tick and get the best performances out of them.

“I always thought Michael would be back at Rangers, to be honest, and I did believe he would be the next manager. Whether Gio left the way he did or whether he left because he did a really good job and moved on to something else, I always believed that Michael would find his way back to Ibrox.

“Actually, as a fan, I was pretty happy to see him back.

“There are smiles back on some of the players’ faces. They’re not playing great, I will say that I don’t think the performances have been absolutely scintillating.

READ MORE: Inside Kenny Miller's new coaching role in the English Championship

“Michael has even said that himself that he would like to see that level improve but the good thing over this spell where he’s finding his feet back at the club is the team’s getting the job done.

“They’re getting the results. The only points dropped have been against Celtic and if I’m being honest it was a really level game but at 2-1 I couldn’t see Celtic getting back into it. I really thought Rangers were going to hold on for the win.

“Looking at the equalising goal, I’m sure Michael would be disappointed in the way they defended that situation because there were two or three moments throughout it that anyone of a number of players could’ve done something different to stop that goal from happening.

“But again, all in all, it was probably a fair result but when you concede that late, we just had that at Huddersfield conceding late against Hull last week, it’s always a bitter pill to swallow when you concede that late.

“He’s made a positive start and even the semi-final against Aberdeen, the game was in the balance but they found it in them to go and win the game. For me, that’s always a positive sign of a good team when you find a way to win games.”