Rangers transfer decision justified as Alfredo Morelos suffers injury that could end Santos career
Before the mass influx of players into Ibrox this summer, Rangers had to clear some space in their squad and one player who departed Glasgow was Alfredo Morelos.
The Colombian striker was released at the end of last season and was without a club for a few months, before signing for Brazilian side Santos, where he has made two appearances and only one start, in a win over Palmeiras on Sunday (8 October).
Santos are one of three Brazilian teams to have never been relegated in their history but are deep in a relegation battle where they currently sit 17th in Serie A and occupy the final relegation place with 12 matches to go.
The Daily Record reported on Thursday (19 October) that Morelos has picked up a calf injury during the side’s preparations for their crucial clash against Red Bull Bragantino that could well see the former Ibrox forward sidelined until 2024.
While a three-month injury may not seem like the worst knock a player could pick up at this time of year, the Brazilian season only runs until December, with Santos playing their final game of the campaign on 3 December against Fortaleza.
The 27-year-old has a clause in his contract that allows him to depart at the end of the season should they fail to avoid relegation so there is currently a fairly high chance that he may not remain in Brazil for the entirety of his original two-year deal.
Rangers may well have had their struggles in front of goal this season, with Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo all struggling to find their feet at Ibrox and receiving plenty of criticism from pundits and supporters, but it doesn’t seem like it would have been wise to keep Morelos in Glasgow this season.
Danilo and Abdallah Sima have shown bright moments throughout the season so far to suggest that they could provide the all-important goals that Philippe Clement will need to be a success with the Light Blues and should they kick on in the coming weeks there will be very few Rangers fans regretting letting go of the Colombian.
In his last season in the Scottish Premiership, there were plenty of question marks over his fitness as Michael Beale used him sparingly once he took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and it seems as though many were right to question whether he was match-fit.
Now that Danilo has been pictured back in Rangers training following his fractured cheekbone, it would be great to see the Brazilian build his confidence in light blue and finally fill the goal-scoring void left by Morelos.
In other Rangers news, according to Fabrizio Romano, the Gers are set to offer Ross McCausland a new deal at Ibrox