Derek Johnstone has been blown away by the impact Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has been making this season, but conceded that he wouldn’t blame him if he left.
Johnstone labelled the 22-year-old as “unbelievable” after the 5-0 rout of Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup fifth round replay on Wednesday, a game where he bagged himself four of the goals.
However, he said he understands if the star forward wants to move on to bigger and better things, and added that the supporters need to be realistic in the fact that Morelos is unlikely to stay on for another campaign at Ibrox – so they must make the most of him while he is still there.
“His performance against Killie was just superb and he deserves all the praise and plaudits going for the way he played on a really pleasing night for Steven Gerrard,” he said in his Evening Times column.
“It was Morelos at his best and in the kind of form that has made him such a favourite with the fans, and that will ensure Rangers get a significant amount of money for him when he moves on from Ibrox.
“He plays up front on his own and his form has been unbelievable. The more goals he scores, the more interest he will attract. At 22, I can understand if Alfredo wants to go and play in a bigger league. But that will only happen if Rangers get what will easily be a record fee for the club, by some way.
“It would be great if he stayed for one more season but the supporters will be realistic and just enjoy him while they can. Hopefully he can leave with a winners’ medal.”
OPINION
Johnstone is right to heap praise on Morelos in the way that he has, as having scored 23 goals already this season in all competitions, he deserves all of the plaudits that come his way. He is likely to reach the 30 goal mark before the end of the campaign, and that is definitely the type of striker that Steven Gerrard needs in the team. However, Johnstone is right to say that we all need to be realistic about his future at the club, as a forward who has scored that many goals and is as good as he is will surely want to move on at some point. Clubs are no doubt going to be interested in signing the Colombian in the summer, so the Gers may have to be resigned to losing one of their star assets. It will have to be for a good price though, as Rangers will then need to find themselves a suitable replacement. There is no knowing whether he will end up leaving, but they must be ready if that does end up happening.