Rangers defender Russell Martin has honestly admitted that ‘everyone has a price’ amid striker Alfredo Morelos being subject to big-money interest from China.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Rangers have turned down three bids so far for the Colombian, with the latest offer from CSL side Beijing Renhe totalling around £8million.
The newspaper report that Graeme Murty expects director of football Mark Allen to begin talks with the 21-year-old over a new contract, as more bids are potentially incoming with the Chinese transfer window running until February 28th.
Senior figure Martin, who was a January signing from Norwich City on loan, has now spoken out about the potential exit, and the 32-year-old admitted that it is up to the board to determine the outcome of the situation.
As quoted by the Mail, he said: “Obviously you like to keep your good players and he is a very good player,’ said on-loan Norwich defender Martin after the 2-1 defeat to Hibs. But in football these days everyone has a price. It is up to the clubs and the board to decide. We will have to go with it. Until then, as long as he remains a decent part of the group then we’ll be fine.
“You could see against Hibs that he worked his socks off. He dominated the centre halves most of the game. He didn’t get the goal that he or we would have liked, but he has been fine. He’s a good lad. He’s quite bubbly and lively. There has been no difference in him.
“Listen, he’s a very good player. Since I’ve come in the building I’ve seen what he’s about. But none of us can dictate what people want to pay. That is up to the clubs. I’m sure it’s a distraction for the people above at this football club that they could probably do without. Of course, it’s going to be on his mind at some point and the manager’s mind. But as long as he’s working hard in training and his attitude stays the same there isn’t a problem with the lad really.”
Morelos was a summer signing from Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki, costing Gers just £1million.
OPINION
The Morelos situation is a tough one for Rangers. On one hand they have a player who could potentially fire them to glory this year with his goalscoring exploits. Morelos is currently the Premiership’s top scorer with 11 goals, and he shows no sign of letting that form up. On the other hand they have the prospect of turning over a profit of eight or nine-times the amount they paid for him in the summer. The issue is whether they can replace his goals with the squad they have at the moment, as incomings are now off the table.