Cedric Itten opens up on Rangers exit as Alfredo Morelos transfer was expected
Cedric Itten has opened up on his Ibrox departure, revealing the impact of an anticipated move for Alfredo Morelos not materialising, as featured by the Rangers Review.
The Swiss international striker has reflected on a stop-start time in Glasgow after making the move from St Gallen in August 2020.
Itten is now back in the groove in his homeland, with 14 goals and seven assists over 25 appearances for Young Boys this season.
Speaking in his native Switzerland, as relayed by Rangers Review, Itten said: “Contrary to expectations, Alfredo Morelos did not move clubs, so I knew I had to do something.
“I had to play, otherwise I would jeopardise my place in the national team, so I decided to switch to the Bundesliga on loan at short notice.
“The mood was not great at Greuther Furth because we lost every week. Then when I returned to Rangers, I suffered from a mysterious infection. The doctors initially found no explanation and suspected that it was the aftermath of Covid.
“I felt weak and tired for weeks. I lost over ten pounds because I could only eat soup and had no appetite. You have a lot of thoughts running through your head, but giving up was never an option.
“But I have certainly been reborn as a player at Young Boys.”
Not meant to be
The supposed move for Morelos that Itten referred to did not come to fruition and neither did a truly successful relationship between this player and Rangers.
Some players just aren’t suited at certain clubs or leagues and that is very much the case for the 26-year-old.
Itten had a few fleeting moments of quality, like his repeated impacts against Motherwell and the strike away to Lech Poznan in the Europa League but he was unable to nail down a regular spot in the team. Some will say he never really got a chance off the bench but that is inaccurate.
The only way to get a run is to impress when given the chance and he wasn’t able to do that. As admitted by the man himself in the feature, he struggled with the physicality of Scottish football including the robust approach of defenders in comparison to the style in Switzerland as well as Germany.
It is great to see the 2021 Scottish title winner playing and scoring again at a good level which has also resulted in a recall to the national team.
In other Rangers news, ‘Incredible’ – Michael Stewart wowed by Morelos in new footage on BBC.