Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton says it was pretty inevitable that talks over an extension to Alfredo Morelos’s contract have been put on hold.

With no games being played due to the ongoing pandemic, there is no money coming in through the doors of the Scottish club at the moment, and Hutton feels it would have been the wrong time to hand the Colombian international a new deal:

“It’s very difficult times at the moment. There’s no money really coming in and looking to renew contracts for players on big wages, it’s very difficult.”

“There’s too many things up in the air, it’s too difficult to even think about the near future to be offering contracts to players that have already got three years left.”

Morelos’s current contract expires in 2023 so there is no real urgency to extend the 23-year-old’s stay at Ibrox but it would have been a signal of intent from the Light Blues about the player’s future.

A number of English clubs, such as Newcastle, have been linked with a move for the forward over the past few months, and getting a fresh commitment from the player may well have ended the speculation.

Failing that, it would have at least given Rangers a stronger bargaining position in negotiations over a transfer fee, but it appears an extension is a long way off now.