Halliday believes Morelos’ new deal is an indication the striker intends to stay
ANDY HALLIDAY is relishing the prospect of Alfredo Morelos spearheading Rangers’ title challenges of the future after the star striker signed a new contract.
Widely expected to be a multi-million-pound departure from Ibrox this summer, Morelos penned a deal until 2023 on Friday — his third wage rise and extension in the space of 12 months.
Halliday accepted the news as a commitment that Rangers are intent on building and strengthening around their top scorer instead of considering a cash-in on the Colombian.
And he believes that Morelos has given a nod to the improvement work done with — and support given to him from — Steven Gerrard, his staff and team-mates since last summer.
‘I think if Alfredo had any intention of not being here next season then he wouldn’t have needed to have signed his deal,’ said Halliday. ‘To sign, that was a statement on its own and I’m just delighted to have him at Rangers.
‘I’ve seen a huge improvement in Alfredo this season. I think he realises that this group of players and staff have helped him to improve, had a real input into him and if he does keep improving, his career will take care of itself. ‘We’re delighted to have him at Rangers. He is just an all-round outstanding striker. ‘One of the asterisks against Alfredo was whether he would score for Rangers in Europe. ‘For me, it’s his performances in Europe that really stood out because it’s not easy to be a lone striker at that level. ‘He does thrive on that. He loves that body contact against big centre-halves. For such a small guy — he’s only 5ft 10in — he likes going in against the big boys.
‘He’s only 22, so he’s only going to get better.’
Morelos, whose remarkable goal haul doesn’t include set-pieces or penalties, is Halliday’s banker to be named Player of the Year in Scotland, even though Celtic’s host of stars are well ahead at the top of the league.
‘Celtic are ahead at the top of the table but I believe Alfredo has been the outstanding player in Scotland this season,’ said Halliday.
‘He has scored 28 goals, which is remarkable given we are only in March. The management team and staff have got the best out of him.’