The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Morelos: Gers move can get me to the World Cup
New striker hopes to springboard into Colombia squad
Alfredo Morelos aims to hit the ground running at Rangers – and then springboard into Colombia’s World Cup squad.
The 20-year-old sealed his £1 million switch to Ibrox from HJK Helsinki on Monday and now aims to match the strike rate that saw him score 52 goals in just 86 outings in Finland.
The deadly poacher has already represented Colombia at youth level.
And he believes if he can find the net as regularly as he did at his previous club, he can join Monaco hitman Falcao and Real Madrid star James Rodriguez in the South American team as they prepare for Russia 2018.
Morelos told RangersTV: “Of course – I’m clear about this objective for good reasons – the Colombian national team is everything. It would be a great joy to be selected for the senior team – every player wants to experience it. So yes, it’s something I want and the day it happens - because I know it will – I’ll make the most of it like the big players we have in the national team like Falcao, James, Juan Cuadrado. There’s an unbelievable squad of players who represent our country.”
Morelos made the switch from his homeland last year when he joined HJK from boyhood club Independiente Medellin.
He quickly proved his worth, netting 30 goals in his first season in Scandinavia and joins Gers having hit another 17 during the current Finnish season.
But he admits finding the net Scotland will not be so easy.
“I know the league here is very competitive – more so than in Finland,” he said.
“So it’s a bit harder and is more complicated. I don’t have a target as yet – I’m a player who is really mentally in prepared in a lot of ways so I’ll take each game that I play in as it comes. Every time there’s an opportunity to score a goal, I will do it constantly.
“I know that the supporters are really incredible – they come to support the team in every game and you always have to respect that and to make them happy by winning.
“I know it’s not possible to win every game but it’s important to make the fans happy and to finish top of the league.
“I know it’s a lot of pressure. I know it’s very different here to the games I played in Finland - the pace of the game – it’s all different. But I’m mentally prepared for it.”
Morelos will get the chance to make his Gers debut when the club ends its sixyear stint in the European wilderness by taking on Europa League qualifying opponents Progres Niederkorn of Luxembourg.