Rangers ‘dependency’ laid bare as Alfredo Morelos may have played his last after crushing blow
Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos may have played his last game for the club having been ruled out for the rest of the season, according to The Athletic.
The Colombian striker had surgery on an injury he picked up on international duty and will not be available again this year, in a crushing blow to the player and the club’s hopes of glory.
Gers have struggled badly without him this year and Jordan Campbell says the club are now being “forced to address” life after El Bufalo.
Jordan Campbell writes in The Athletic: “It could well be that we have seen Morelos in a Rangers jersey for the last time.
“He is due to fit to resume training in pre-season but by then he will be into the final year of his contract and may not have the boon of Champions League football to keep him satisfied compared to what else may be on offer in continental Europe.
“His injury might complicate any potential summer transfer, however, as interested clubs may want to see how his fitness and overall game are when he is back playing before they commit millions based on his performances before this surgery.”
Huge loss
The club have a major job on their hands to either keep hold of their talismanic striker or replace him.
The gap he leaves cannot adequately be filled by either Kemar Roofe or Cedric Itten, and arguably not even with both together.
There is a strong argument to be made that his absence for both of the last two Old Firm derbies is what derailed the title defence.
He has done enough to earn himself a move elsewhere, and his performances in the Europa League, particularly against Dortmund, will have drawn attention.
If the most likely thing that keeps him at the club is complications in his recovery from surgery that’s not good for anyone.
Even if he were to stay, the games he has missed this season show that the Bears cannot continue the way they have.
Campbell calls it a “crippling dependency” and it appears so if the season has been derailed as badly as it seems.
In other Rangers news, it is not just in the forward department that there are major moves on the horizon as a “huge addition” has been mooted for defence.