Alfredo Morelos relationship with Rangers breaks down as spectacular failure emerges in journalist verdict
The relationship between Alfredo Morelos and Rangers is breaking down with the striker continuing to struggle on the pitch, according to Scottish Mail on Sunday journalist Gary Keown.
Morelos, 26, has been well and truly replaced by Giovanni van Bronckhorst as the club’s first-choice striker and he’s now struggling for starts at Ibrox.
While he came off the bench to score in the 4-1 win over Aberdeen on Saturday – just his third goal of the season – Keown believes that Morelos’ form shows how a once-happy relationship is now fractured.
Writing for the Scottish Mail on Sunday (30 October, page 137), Keown said: “In the end, both parties have failed each other spectacularly through their actions and a complex relationship that has always contained so much fire and fury – and fractiousness – now looks likely just to fizzle out. With regrets. And sadness. And words unsaid. As happens when something once bright and brilliant, albeit never straightforward, becomes reduced to a dying flame.
“Certainly, it is hard to believe the management are as relaxed these days about Morelos running down his contract as they claimed to be after turning down a £16.25million offer from Lille back in 20202.
“The whole thing is quite unfortunate to watch, in a way. Yet, everyone involved must take their share of the blame.”
Get rid
Morelos’ contract won’t be renewed now, surely.
His deal expires at the end of the season, meaning there’s a good chance that in January, he’ll be offered a pre-contract move elsewhere or be the subject of a lowball bid from a team trying to find a bargain.
But with his attitude and fitness so poor and his performances on the pitch being equally as bad, who would want him?
Morelos could have joined a team regularly playing in the Champions League a year or two ago.
He could have even had a move to the Premier League.
But Rangers failed to realise that they cannot keep players with Morelos’ quality as long as they should.
Lessons were learned last season as Nathan Patteson, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey were either sold to Premier League or Champions League clubs.
They’d outgrown Rangers or were showing potential that they would be too good for the Scottish Premiership.
Morelos has always been a big fish in a small pond up here.
But now, he’s small fry at Ibrox compared to Antonio Colak.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has leapt to the Gers’ defence on Twitter after a bizarre rant by a talkSPORT host.