Former Scottish Premiership striker Frank McAvennie has been left stunned by some comments made by Michael Beale on Glasgow Rangers player Ryan Jack.

The Lowdown: Contracts expiring

The Ibrox giants have plenty of first-team players whose contracts are expiring next summer, including the likes of Jack and Alfredo Morelos.

Beale admitted earlier this month that he would like to keep the Scotland midfielder at the club, claiming that the 30-year-old is in the 'best eleven' players in his squad and adding "Why wouldn’t you want to keep Ryan Jack?".

The Latest: Not mentioning Morelos 'strange'

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie has claimed that it was 'strange' of Beale not to mention Morelos alongside Jack in terms of players that the Rangers boss would like to keep at Ibrox, suggesting that the 'ship has sailed' in terms of giving the Colombian a new contract.

The 63-year-old said: “I think that ship has sailed. You can’t just start playing when you have got six months left on your contract. I think the fans will see through that.

“Beale is a manager now, I do not know if he has had many of these situations before, I would not have thought so. He was only at QPR a few days. It will be interesting to see how he handles it.

“He might do it right. But coming out and saying he wants to give Jack a contract, and not mentioning Morelos, it is strange.

“Watch this space because he is a new manager so you do not know what he is going to do.“

The Verdict: Time to go

With just a few months left on his deal at Rangers, and no signs of him extending it at this moment in time, the January transfer window presents an optimum time to let Morelos go for a substantial fee.

He has not always been a starter this season and has only managed four goals and one assist in 22 games across all competitions so far (Transfermarkt).

Morelos has been criticised for being overweight, while he was also dropped by Beale's predecessor Giovanni van Bronckhorst over concerns about his attitude.

Frankly, the Colombia international has been a burden on the squad at times this season, and with striker Antonio Colak signed last summer and already netting 14 goals, the Gers can afford to let Morelos go.