Wilson relaxed about Morelos and Kent’s contract situations
Ross Wilson has stressed that Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos are “two completely different situations” as the Rangers sporting director defended the club’s contracts policy.
Morelos and Kent head a group of players who will be out of contract this summer. Also included in the list are the likes of Steven Davis, Scott Arfield, Ryan Jack and goalkeeper Allan Mcgregor, who is likely to announce his retirement. It has presented new manager Michael Beale with an early headache after he was officially unveiled at Ibrox on Thursday.
Beale must deal with the uncertainty of being left with so many players whose futures remain unclear. Wilson is unfazed by the situation and described it as “good contract management” to have older players operating on short-term contracts. Kent and Morelos, he added, were both separate cases and will be resolved in time. Time is now running out, however. Both players can speak with other clubs from January and sign pre-contract deals.
Wilson is aware that he and others in the Rangers management structure are there to be shot at and he accepts criticism. But he referenced defender Connor Goldson while insisting everything was under control at Ibrox.
Everyone expected the Rangers defender to leave at the end of last season, but he signed a new four-year deal despite interest from elsewhere.
“I don’t think it [criticism] has been unfair because I think everyone is entitled to their opinion on that, of course they are,” said Wilson. “But I think we are comfortable with the direction of travel with our contracts. It played out last year with Connor, so we’ll see where we go with that.”
As for the current state of play with striker Morelos and winger Kent, Wilson added. “They are both private and personal situations for the two boys and their agents so I won’t go into any details there but they are two very, very different situations.
“Time will tell. I think as Michael said the other day there are two different sides to that, there is the players’ side and the club’s side. Let’s see where we go first.”
Ross Wilson has been one constant amid the recent flux at Rangers, with the sporting director often appearing to operate below the radar at Ibrox.
Wilson has been portrayed, unfairly or otherwise, as the teflon man. As managers depart and others arrive, he has been an elusive, often invisible, part of the management structure at a time when questions are being continually raised about Rangers’ recruitment policy.
Wilson is hardly able to remain in the background when a new manager is unveiled, particularly when it’s someone with whom there is an existing relationship and who he clearly had a major say in recruiting. Michael Beale can enjoy a few weeks’ honeymoon at least but Wilson, who was appointed in 2019, knows he is long past being able to rely on that luxury.
Fans want to see evidence of a well thought-out, rational transfer strategy which would prevent a situation where Rangers are over-reliant on players who are either too old or else dropping weekly in value, as is the case with Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
It wasn’ t so long ago that rangerslined up against na po li for a first home Champions League group game in 12 years with a team that included nine players who were at the club in Steven Gerrard’s first season. Indeed, two of them were at the club for that previous Champions League campaign in 2011-12. Such details have been employed to contradict Wilson’s claim to have a coherent plan in place.
News of a new Celtic signing in the current break – defender Yuki Kobayashi was unveiled yesterday – has only increased the scrutiny on Rangers, who are already trailing their rivals by nine points in the league. Wilson, however, is comfortable with how things are progressing atibr ox on the personnel front. He say she is“proud” of what he’s achieved so far in tandem with Gerrard and then Giovanni vanbr on ck horst, who he says he has spoken to "every day" since he was sacked last month.
“I know the mandate I was given on the day I walked in the door here and I am absolutely sure I have delivered on my part of the mandate so far,” said Wilson. “But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things I wouldn’ t look back on and say‘i could have done that bit better, or that bit'. I am certainly proud of a lot of the work and there is still loads of work to do here and a load of work to do in the coming windows for sure.”
One interesting aspect of Be ale’ s return is his relationship with Kent, which dates to their time at the Liverpool academy. It might lead to a breakthrough in re-signing talks – if, indeed, that's something that both parties want. Whatever happens, Wilson firmly rejected criticism of the club's contracts policy.
“I don’t buy it,” he said. “I don’t buy into that at all. Nonsense. There are two key assets here who have been talked about for along time ink en tandm ore los. There is another group of older players … I’m sure everybody understands good contract management is to have those lads on one-year contracts and review them year on year. And there are a couple of boys who have been injured quite a lot so again it is sensible to keep reviewing before the end of the season as well. So I don’t buy into that.”