Glen Kamara has been a key part of Rangers' impressive form this season under Steven Gerrard and, despite some recent claims from former Premiership striker Noel Whelan, Ross Wilson should hand the Finnish midfielder a new deal in order to keep him at Ibrox for the foreseeable future.

In an interview with Football Insider, Whelan suggested:

“He’s one that Steven Gerrard wants to tie down to a new contract and rightly so.

“But the way this season’s been in terms of Covid, bills, the running of the club, maybe one player has to leave to cover those losses.

“Maybe that’s a realisation that they need to get £10-15m in the bank to make up for the money they’ve lost. They might just have to sacrifice one player.

“If you can get that then great. But at the same time you know you’re weakening your side by losing a key player. But at times like this, you’ve got to look after the club first.

“There will be a queue for a player like that, a specialist in the midfield area and the sort of player you need to win any kind of Championship.”

However, with Rangers well on track to win the Premiership title this season, why would they cash in on one of their most important players ahead of potentially playing in the Champions League next season?

Gerrard's side have shown this season that they can have success in Europe, and Kamara has been a huge part of that, with the Finnish international having appeared in all eight fixtures in the Europa League, averaging a solid 6.95 rating for his performances.

Since signing for the club from Dundee in January 2019, the former Arsenal youngster has gone on to make 94 appearances for Rangers, contributing four goals and three assists in that time; and Gerrard clearly sees him as an important part of his side, describing him as a "class act" back in 2019.

Considering that the 25-year-old reportedly earns just £6,000 per week at Rangers, you could definitely argue that he deserves a new contract, which could put any interested clubs off trying to sign him in the summer.

With the likes of Steven Davis (35) and Scott Arfield (32) also featuring in midfield, it would perhaps be a poor decision by the club to allow the 25-year-old Kamara to leave in the summer, as they would surely need to bring in a replacement in the next couple of seasons when both of Gerrard's experienced options are likely to either be retired or well past their peak.

Should they win the title this season, then they will feature in the Champions League qualifying rounds next term; and if they can navigate that better than their Old Firm rivals, they will then receive a huge financial boost for featuring in the group stages of the competition, which could easily subsidise any potential fee they would have received for Kamara.

We must also factor in the fact that fans are hopefully going to be able to return to Ibrox next season, thanks to the progress of the vaccines, so it is perhaps premature of Whelan to talk about selling one of Gerrard's key players as a way of raising funds, as the club could be set for a serious windfall in the next few months.

Therefore, if there is interest in Kamara, Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson should ignore Whelan's claim and hand the Finnish midfielder a new deal with the club.

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