Rangers urged to find Morelos successor

Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan has urged Glasgow Rangers to find a replacement for Alfredo Morelos at Ibrox.

The lowdown: Uncertain future

Seemingly perennially linked with a move away during his five years with the club, the 26-year-old Colombia international has avoided all speculation thus far and amassed a staggering 164 direct goal contributions in 224 outings for the Light Blues.

Having entered the final 12 months of a deal in Glasgow though, Morelos, along with Ryan Kent, has reportedly opened discussions with the Gers’ hierarchy regarding a new deal.

Reacting to the discussions, one pundit has urged Rangers to seek a long-term replacement in the ongoing window regardless of whether Morelos commits his future…

The latest: ‘Got to be looking’

Speaking to Football Insider, ex-Leeds United frontman and former BBC Radio show host Whelan suggested that Giovanni van Bronckhorst should take a leaf out of Celtic’s book and sign competition for the 11-cap ace.

He said: “I think with a year left, Morelos is in control of the situation – Rangers aren’t. So they’ve got to be looking now for a striker who can have longevity at the club.

“Morelos has been around a long time. He’s been fantastic, but he’s always talked about leaving – the speculation has been constant. The time has probably come for him to have a change, and Rangers need the security of having a top striker at the club if that does happen. They need to look for the new Morelos.

“January might be a sign of what is to come, but they need to cover their backs this summer. You can never have too many options in these attacking areas, just look at Celtic.”

The verdict: Options required…

As things stand, Van Bronckhorst has Fashion Sakala, Kemar Roofe and summer signing Antonio Colak at his disposal as alternative centre-forward options to Morelos, albeit Roofe is currently sidelined due to an injury setback.

Ultimately, it’s been injuries to Roofe that have shone a light on the lack of depth in the attacking department previously, a problem Rangers will hope the signing of 28-year-old Croatia international Colak will address.

[freshpress-quiz id=”389420″]

Long term, signing a successor to the £11.7million valued Morelos and indeed an injury-prone Roofe would be a shrewd move from the Light Blues, particularly given that the Colombian missed 15 games through a thigh problem last season.

Linked with the likes of Ellis Simms and Patrick Cutrone this summer, there is clearly a desire to add more firepower to the armoury at Ibrox and during the remaining time in the window, another signing could well be forthcoming regardless of the potentially imminent new in-house deals.