Morelos won’t get his dream move if he can’t KO Hoops
Alfredo Morelos may need to have a rethink about placing his ambitions ahead of his abilities.
Another transfer window has passed and he’s stayed put at Rangers – speculation aside, that big- money move has not materialised.
And the fact remains that potential suitors only care about one barometer when it comes to deciding whether he’s worth the gamble and it’s this... How does he fare against Celtic.
There will be at least two more opportunities for the 22-year-old to prove himself worthy of his self- confessed dream move to the English Premier League this summer.
Forget the goals against Hamilton, Livingston and St Johnstone, nobody cares and very few are watching.
You can bet your bottom dollar that no club down south is prepa r i ng a megabucks contract on the back of what the Colombian is achieving in places such as Perth and deepest Lanarkshire.
It’s the Kris Boyd syndrome, a reputation as a prolific scorer against the alsorans and Scottish football ’s cannon fodder but failing when it comes to Old Firm encounters.
If he’s to be the £ 20million player that his club believe him to be then he has to prove himself a pain in the a*** to Brendan Rodgers.
Reported interest from French club Nice and Turkish side Galatasaray came to nothing and no doubt Steven Gerrard believes a fee of £8million is a touch on the side of derisory.
But he also needs to be careful about overstating the valuation on the back of 20 goals so far this season and carrying the well earned reputation as the SPFL’s top marksman.
Morelos has spoken about his desperation to add to the one cap he currently has for his country and again that ambition is unlikely to be promoted while he’s plundering defences in Scotland.
A move to a more respected league and a record against the better defences is his best bet of making an international breakthrough.
Morelos should take a look at Moussa Dembele and see what kind of back catalogue constitutes a talent which moves for £ 19million. Both players are the same age but it was Dembele’s ability to routinely ransack the Rangers defence and scoring against Manchester City and PSG in the Champions League which convinced Lyon to bring out the cheque book.
Morelos doesn’t have that luxury in the months ahead as Gers are already out of Europe. Again, his goals earlier this season in the Europa League don’t stack up to anything which would make the big hitters sit up and take notice.
A lack of discipline is also ticked in the negative column by chief scouts who’d made a trip to Ibrox. Petulant and capable of acts of stupidity, as well as an opinion from many that he lacks a clinical touch and really isn’t good enough.
This opinion is that Morelos is as good as it gets at the moment in terms of strikers in Scotland but that also comes with a but. He’ll need to do it against Celtic if he’s to silence the doubters.
It’s Kris Boyd syndrome ... he’s a prolific scorer only against the also-rans of our game