da 888： As reported by The Daily Record, HJK Helsinki striker Alfredo Morelos is on the brink of a move to Rangers after undergoing a medical at the club earlier this week. They reckon that the only thing standing in the way of a move to Glasgow is a work permit.
da wazamba： If he signs shortly as expected then he will be come the sixth Pedro Caixinha signing of the summer with the Portuguese not wasting any time in making the squad one of his own at Ibrox after the Mark Warburton era at the club.
Morelos, a 20-year-old Colombian may just be the most exciting of the bunch. Yes we’ve seen stars like Bruno Alves arrive in Glasgow but there’s nothing like the intrigue around bringing in a red hot striker from abroad, especially if they happen to be South American.
Still, it’s not purely his shallow personal profile or position that makes him an exciting acquisition, there are plenty of substantial reasons why Light Blues fans should look at this move with optimism.
Here are three reasons why he may be a hit at the club…
His goalscoring record
In terms of reasons to be excited about his arrival at Rangers, the primary reason would be his scoring exploits at his current club HJK Helsinki in Finland. One of the biggest clubs in the country, Helsinki fans are enjoying Alfredo Morelos plenty right now thanks to his exceptional goalscoring rate.
So far this season he’s scored 11 goals in his last 11 league starts, a clearly outstanding record. That’s part of a 46 goal haul in 62 appearances in all competitions throughout his time at the club, including four in the UEFA Europa League.
It’s been a long time since Rangers have brought in a player with such prolific ability in front of goal. Recently they’ve had to bring in players from the English lower leagues where even there they’d been unable to muster such a striking rate.
The Finnish league may not have the best of reputations around Europe but it’s still a top-flight division and he’s been doing it big matches, with his Europa League record also pointing to a player capable of making a big impact at Ibrox.
His ambition
On arrival for his medical at Rangers earlier this week, Alfredo Morelos seemed especially happy to be making the switch to Glasgow from Finland. Having taken the bold step last year to leave his homeland of Colombia to make a success of himself in Europe, not something you see from loads of South American players doing so early in their career, he is now getting a move to a truly big club who are known to football fans all over the world.
What’s more he has a similar ambition for the Light Blues, believing he can help deliver the league titles that supporters so badly crave in Glasgow.
As quoted by STV, Morelos said earlier this week:
I’m very happy to be here and to show everyone my scoring skills. I’ve been doing things right in the last few months and I come here to Rangers to contribute to the team, to the club and to win some titles which is really important for Rangers.
It seems for too long that players and personalities around Ibrox have been content with aiming for second place but bringing in fresh talent from abroad who only know a successful Rangers could provide the edge they need to start closing the gap on Celtic after the summer.
He’s completely different to recent strikers
In recent seasons Rangers have tended to prefer strikers who like the ball played into their feet with their back to goal. Joe Garner was certainly that kind of player while Kenny Miller and Martyn Waghorn are at their best when they drop a bit deeper to receive the ball.
A cursory glance at Alfredo Morelos though and you can see he’s a player he thrives when the ball is played in front of him in the channels. He has the strength and pace to be a success at that kind of football and so offers Rangers a completely different option than what they have right now.
He appears to be very comfortable running with the ball too and that kind of direct, powerful forward play could give the Light Blues a dimension that makes them hard to deal with in the Scottish Premiership.
At the very least it gives Pedro Caixinha options and with the likes of Barrie McKay always looking to play in strikers around the box and on the counter-attack, he could forge excellent partnerships at Ibrox.