THE PRICE OF PROGRESS
Gerrard is feeling both pride and pain as other clubs covet Rangers players again
IN football, the law of the jungle dictates that progress attracts predators. There will always be bigger beasts trying to snatch away the tastiest morsels in your possession if they detect signs of promise.
For long enough, a look through the Rangers squad did little to stir the appetites of wealthier clubs in England or further afield.
You have to trawl back to the 2008 sales of Alan Hutton and Carlos Cuellar — for £9million and £8m respectively — to find the last time the Ibrox outfit raked in really significant cash from squad assets. Nikica Jelavic was sold on the cheap by Craig Whyte at £5.5m in 2012 and that year’s descent into financial meltdown provided an obvious and lasting impediment to rebuilding a successful transfer model.
Even so, much time and money was wasted in the attempt to recover. While Celtic consistently strengthened their balance sheet with profitable sales, their rivals derived a pitiful percentage of income from player trading. Restoring that part of the business was a necessary step towards normalisation and, ultimately, the pursuit of success.
Trophies may remain absent but Steven Gerrard can claim to have done his bit in the first area. People want to buy Rangers players again — and for good money.
As the Ibrox manager readily recognises, however, that’s a double-edged sword when you are trying to shape a team capable of taking the final step towards silverware in such a pressurised season. There is a careful balancing act to be performed.
So far this summer, Rangers have rejected offers worth around £16m from Lille for Alfredo Morelos and £10m from Leeds United for Ryan Kent.
While Lille have hit pause on their move for the Colombian striker — whom Gerrard again said has had ‘his head turned’ — Leeds seem likely to come back for Kent. Thanks in part to the exposure of back-to-back Europa League campaigns, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara and Connor Goldson are among the others who have admirers.
The experience sporting director Ross Wilson garnered at Southampton will undoubtedly be an aid in dealing with whatever arises in the remaining six weeks of the window. Indeed, the strategy determined by Wilson, Gerrard and the board could well have a crucial influence on the attempt to prevent Celtic from winning a tenth successive title.
‘With all due respect, when we took over here there wasn’t much valuation in the squad,’ reflected Gerrard yesterday.
‘No one was at the door trying to buy our players. It was a case of trying to build it up. I think you have to give the club and the board a lot of credit and respect for investing in the squad and making the necessary changes.
‘Now there is a lot of interest in a lot of our players, which shows the progress that’s been made.
‘That’s ultimately a good thing but when people make serious bids then it’s not a good feeling because of what we’re trying to achieve and build here.’
Gerrard (right) is a realist. While adamant Rangers will not sell themselves short, he accepts all of his players must have a price.
Kent’s might be determined by a buy-out clause in his contract, which Gerrard declined to confirm or deny yesterday.
Either way, the figure is substantially higher than £10m.
Rangers would also be resistant to offers that didn’t carry a heavy bias towards up-front money ahead of add-ons. Liverpool are due a percentage of any sale as part of the £7m deal that took the 23-year-old to Glasgow last September.
‘A few people questioned the faith I had in Ryan when I went and bought him,’ said Gerrard.
‘I remember the day I had the private chat with (former chairman) Dave King. We had an in-depth chat about whether we could get Ryan, what he would cost and so on. The club showed amazing faith in Ryan by bringing him here after the loan spell.
‘He has got a really fantastic rapport with the supporters and with his team-mates.
‘Ryan is settled here. He is very happy and I think he appreciates what the club have done for him in terms of his career.
‘But at the same time we have to respect the fact that he is playing well and there is a lot of interest in him.
‘We have to see how this one plays out. He is a player we don’t want to sell. The board are on the same page as myself in terms of that decision.
‘Ryan seems really fine and calm about the situation. I trust him in terms of being able to block all the noise out and focus on the job he needs to do here.’
Gerrard seems less sure about Morelos. Other than a two-goal performance against St Mirren, the striker has underwhelmed in his appearances this season and was replaced during last weekend’s stalemate against Livingston.
Lille president Gerard Lopez this week refused to rule out a further offer if they deem more reinforcement is necessary. ‘It’s none of my business what Lille decide to do and how they go about their negotiations, strategies and plans with trying to buy players,’ said Gerrard. ‘I’m not really interested. My concern is here at Rangers.
‘I’m disappointed the player has had his head turned and doesn’t look himself. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about.’
That suggests Gerrard has a call to make on starting Morelos up front against Kilmarnock this afternoon. Newcomers Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe are both waiting in the wings.
While the absence of an attacking breakthrough at Livingston halted Rangers’ 100-per-cent start, the defensive part of Gerrard’s side can now claim to have history in its sights.
A fifth successive clean sheet today would beat the club’s best opening to a post-war league season set by the famous Iron Curtain backline in season 1949/50.
‘It wasn’t a statistic I was aware of but we will try our best to try and keep another one,’ said ever-present centre-back Goldson.
‘It is good that we are close to that run because I feel that we are defensively stronger now than the first year I came here.
‘We hope that continues but we are only four games into a season. We have done well so far but hopefully there is more to come.’
“There is a lot of interest in Ryan. We’ll see how this plays out...”