Jonny McFarlane joined Fraser Wilson on a recent edition of The Daily Record’s Rangers Podcast to discuss the latest news surrounding the Glasgow-based club. One of the topics of discussion that came up during the show is the future of the Gers’ Colombian centre-forward Alfredo Morelos.
Morelos moved to Ibrox in July 2017 and no Rangers player scored more goals in all competitions than the Colombian scored in the 2017/18, 2018/19 or the 2019/20 season. During the 2019/20 campaign, 24-year-old Morelos scored 29 goals and provided 10 assists in his 46 appearances for Rangers in all competitions.
The striker has recently been linked with a move away from Ibrox, with reports claiming that ‘Ligue 1 side Lille have reached an agreement’ with the Colombian attacker, as per RMC Sport (via Get French Football News), which also stated that ‘negotiations have now begun between Rangers and the Ligue 1 club to find a fee agreement’ for the player’s transfer.
During his recent appearance on The Daily Record’s Rangers Podcast, McFarlane explained why he believes Steven Gerrard’s club may consider selling the goalscorer this summer.
The journalist said: “Do you trust Morelos for a full season? There’ll be Rangers fans going – ‘of course! He’s scored 30 goals, he’s a terrific player, why are people so hard on him?’ The fact is, he’s had seven red cards in just over a season and three quarters, and on top of that, he’s also had spells during those seasons where he’s completely just dropped in terms of his form, off the cliff.
“So while no one could say that Alfredo Morelos at his best isn’t a fantastic striker – one of the best, if not the best in Scotland – the problem is you have to be realistic and say there’s also periods when he’s let his manager down and that’ll be racking at Steven Gerrard, because he’ll know that if Morelos lets him down again this season when 10 in a row is on the line, he’ll be blamed for not chucking him out.
“So if an offer were to come in of £15m with, say, a 25% sell-on fee, Rangers would look at Lille and say: ‘Well, this is a club that’s just about to sell Victor Osimhen, a Nigerian striker who’s lightning-quick, by the way, and I think he’ll be a great signing for Napoli, 60 million quid – Rangers will look at that and think, ‘well if they’ve already been able to sell a striker on like that, then there’s no reason to see why they can’t do it again with Morelos.”
Would Rangers be making a mistake by selling Morelos this summer?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
In addition to Morelos’ poor disciplinary record throughout his time at Ibrox, McFarlane seems to believe that the transfer fee that the attacker could potentially command in the future should he succeed at Lille is a reason why Rangers may consider selling the Colombian to the French club if they make the Glasgow-based side a good enough offer to sign him.
As per The Guardian, Lille attacker Osimhen, who joined the French club last summer for £12.6m, is currently the subject of a €60m (£54.82m) bid from Serie A side Napoli and with that in mind, it may be understandable why Rangers might believe that a similar situation could unfold with Morelos, and that may explain why the Gers would consider selling the attacker to Lille if they can negotiate a sell-on fee in the transfer deal, as explained by McFarlane.