Alfredo Morelos almost cost Michael Beale his job at Rangers, ‘his time is up’
Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos nearly cost Michael Beale his job at Ibrox when he was the assistant manager, as suggested by journalist Garry Keown.
The Colombian striker is in the final few months of his deal at Ibrox, and writing for the Scottish Mail on Sunday (page 103, 12 February), Keown says that the club should look beyond Morelos and that “his time is up” at Ibrox.
Keown suggests that Morelos was dropped from the Scottish Cup visit to Hearts in February 2020 as the club had enough of his disciplinary issues. The season was eventually halted due to Covid, otherwise, both Beale and Steven Gerrard would have lost their jobs.
Morelos seems to have found his mojo back under Beale, but Keown says the Rangers boss should know very well how “irresponsible” the 26-year-old striker can be.
“Going back to the well again with Morelos is the antithesis of that. His time at the club is up,” wrote Keown.
“Beale should know how irresponsible Morelos (pictured) can be. He almost cost him his job at Ibrox first time around.
“After 18 months of letting him away with murder — with his appalling disciplinary record and all-round huffiness — Gerrard finally snapped after the striker had returned late from a trip home to South America and dropped him from the Scottish Cup visit to Hearts in February 2020 that ended in a 1-0 loss.
“Rangers had gone into total freefall by the time Covid came round. Had that season carried on, Gerrard and Beale, then first-team coach, would surely have bitten the dust. It is to be hoped that Beale’s current talk of giving him a new deal is merely a ruse to try and keep him onside for the next three and-a-bit months.”
Big decision
It’s unclear what will happen with Morelos but Beale appears to be very happy with his recent performances.
Morelos dropped down the pecking order at the club behind Antonio Colak under Giovanni van Bronckhorst. He looked out of form and out of shape, as he struggled to make an impact in the first half of the campaign.
However, his form rapidly improved under Beale. The injury to Colak opened the door for him to play regularly, and the Colombian striker grabbed those opportunities with both hands.
He is a fantastic finisher who has scored over 100 goals for the club, and can be a lethal weapon under Beale going forward as well.
Rangers missed the opportunity to sell him before for a high transfer fee, £16.25m in installments from Lille back in 2020, but they may have to lose him for free in the summer.
At the same time, if the club tie him down on a new fat contract, the Bears would still be spending a lot of money in wages. It’s a big decision for the club, but it probably won’t be resolved any time soon.
In other Rangers news, there are “serious doubts” over the fitness of one striker for the Viaplay Cup final against Celtic.