UP THE MONEY
Lille are told to increase £15m offer for Morelos
RANGERS have told Lille they must up the ante if they want to land Alfredo Morelos.
Sportsmail revealed last week that the French club were prepared to offer £15million for the Colombian after agreeing to sell star striker Victor Osimhen to Napoli for £60m.
However, they were informed that valuation does not match up to the figure Rangers are seeking for a player who has scored 77 goals since moving to Glasgow.
The Ibrox club are now waiting to see whether Lille will return to the table with a formal offer for Morelos (right) that could come closer to their demands.
With Saturday’s Premiership opener against Aberdeen looming and Jermain Defoe injured, a successful bid this week would leave Steven Gerrard with a race against time to land a replacement. Bordeaux’s
Josh Maja has again been linked with interest from Ibrox. Reports in France yesterday claimed that Morelos had agreed to the personal terms being offered by Lille and that negotiations over a fee would take place. Ibrox sources insisted, however, that there were no active discussions currently ongoing between the clubs. Morelos has rebuffed interest from wealthy Qatari outfit Al Duhail this summer, but Lille represent a more attractive option for the 24-year-old — under contract at Ibrox until 2023 — and it’s thought he would be keen on making the move. While the sale of Osimhen has given the Ligue 1 outfit huge investment power, they have already seen £20million-plus offers rejected for Red Bull Salzburg forward Patson Daka and Gent’s Jonathan David. Gerrard has been keen to strengthen his forward options throughout this summer, but the options available would obviously be influenced by the future of Morelos. Maja remains on the radar, as does Anderlecht’s Kemar Roofe and Livingston forward Lyndon Dykes. Barnsley have made an improved offer for Dykes after an original £750,000 bid — rising to £1m with add-ons — was turned down last week. Meanwhile, Connor Goldson has praised Rangers for a show of public support towards players who choose to take the knee. Managing director Stewart Robertson spoke out in a statement after players were abused for adopting the Black Lives Matter gesture during pre-season wins over Nice and Lyon in France. Taking to social media vice-captain Goldson claimed he and his team-mates had been hurt by the negative reaction of some supporters to players taking the knee, with one respondent telling the Englishman he should ‘leave our club ASAP.’ That prompted a statement from Rangers warning fans aiming racist abuse or hatred towards players to stay away from Ibrox. And, speaking after players took the knee before Saturday’s 2-0 pre-season win over Coventry at Ibrox, Goldson said: ‘I was proud of the club coming out and making the statement they did, Stewart Robertson doing that. We had the support from everyone.’