Murty now set to hand Morelos a pay rise
GRAEME MURTY last night revealed that Alfredo Morelos is set to be rewarded with a pay rise after Rangers rejected bids of up to £8million from Chinese suitors Beijing Renhe. As Sportsmail revealed yesterday, the on-form 21-year-old striker’s agents are seeking urgent talks about an enhanced deal with Ibrox director of football Mark Allen. Given that the Chinese transfer window remains open until February 28, Morelos could still make the life-changing move to Beijing. With that in mind, Rangers are keen to maximise the value of their prized asset as well as rewarding the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer, who is currently one of the club’s lower earners on less than £7,000 per week. Rangers boss Murty said: ‘If you think of Alfredo’s valuation, it bodes well that we look at his deal and make sure he’s happy being here. ‘Even if players have a length of time on their contract, we need to protect their position for the club and reward them if they are doing really well. ‘Alfredo comes into that bracket but he’s not the only
one. He’s just the most high-profile at the moment and talks are ongoing between the director of football and board regarding the player. ‘It makes good sense to tie your assets down. At any business, you try to get a competitive price for what you buy and try to maximise the value if you are going to sell. Football is exactly the same but it’s done in the public domain.’ Murty conceded earlier this week that Morelos had been left ‘confused’ by recent events but insists he is ‘fine’ now. And the Rangers boss, whose side host Hibs today, believes turning down such a significant sum for footballing reasons sends a strong message about the direction the Ibrox club is heading. ‘The bid was authentic and it was big,’ he said. ‘Am I surprised it was not accepted? No. I was under no economic imperative to sell. I was told that money would not drive what we were doing. ‘I was told to make a footballing decision. Could we get someone as good or better than Alfredo Morelos in 24 hours? No! ‘We want a squad capable of challenging in all competitions. Alfredo is our top scorer. ‘I think it sends out a good message. Possibly there may have been times at this club when that deal would have happened. But it hasn’t happened. ‘Obviously, the Chinese window is not synced to ours and they may come back. But we will deal with that when it happens. ‘The speculation was unsettling Alfredo a bit but we have to make sure that’s gone. We need him to be firing against Hibs and for the second half of the season.’ Meanwhile, Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack looks to have played his last game of the season after undergoing knee surgery in midweek. The former Aberdeen captain initially thought he had suffered severe bruising against Motherwell in December. He jetted off to America with Rangers for the Florida Cup in January before the extent of his injury was uncovered. ‘Ryan had an operation this week and is on crutches,’ said Murty. ‘Do I expect him back this season? It’ll be a push. We don’t have a definitive timescale as yet.’