Michael Beale says Rangers are moving further down the road to finding an Alfredo Morelos replacement - having known the Colombian was moving on since NOVEMBER.
The Ibrox side has confirmed five players - Morelos, Ryan Kent, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and Filip Helander - will all leave the club when contracts expire this summer. It has been long anticipated the striker was on the move from Rangers but Beale insists he knew the number 20 would be departing from as early as November last year.
That has allowed him plenty of time to think about how to replace the man they signed from Helsinki in 2017. Speaking ahead of Wednesday's final home match of the season against Hearts on Wednesday, Beale insists the club are already some of the way to getting a replacement. When asked how you deal with finding the next Morelos, Beale responded: "I have been thinking about it since November.
"I have had a lot of time to think and ponder. Good strikers cost quite a bit of money so we are very much down the line with some of our thinking on that."
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can also follow our dedicated Rangers and Celtic podcast pages and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.