Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos had a phenomenal campaign for the Scottish club Rangers in the 2018-19 season, scoring 29 goals in 44 appearances for Steven Gerrard’s side, helping the team to a second-place league finish, while also finishing top of the goalscoring charts in the Scottish Premiership with 18 goals. The 22-year-old Colombian now has 47 goals in his two seasons with the Scottish side since moving to the club from HJK Helsinki.
Now, reports are linking him with a move to Newcastle United in the English Premier League for a fee of around £20 million. That will be a significant profit for the Scottish club who signed him for around £1 million in 2017.
Morelos signed a new contract earlier this year, which was in addition to the one he signed in September of last year. The Colombian international’s Rangers contract will now expire in 2023.
Newcastle United will be under new ownership soon and whoever the Magpies manager is (Rafa Benitez has not agreed to a new contract yet), is expected to be given a sizable transfer kitty in the summer transfer window.
Will Morelos be a risky addition?
Morelos has shown over the last two years in the Scottish Premiership that he is a consistent goalscorer, with pace to burn while being fearless in taking on opposition defenders. The striker is good with both feet and can be a menace for most defences.
He has a lot going for him and could be a great addition to most mid-table Premier League teams, but his fiery and combative nature has resulted in him picking up numerous yellow and red cards in the season. In the 2018-19 season, Morelos got a mind-boggling 15 yellow cards and 5 red cards – stats that are unbelievable even for a defensive midfielder let alone a striker.
Even his manager, Steven Gerrard, could not defend his striker’s actions after his red card against arch-rivals Celtic earlier this year.
Buying a hot-tempered player like Morelos could be a huge risk for Newcastle United, but the Colombian could perhaps change his ways under a manager like Rafa Benitez. It’s also easy to forget that he’s still only 22 years old and will mature as a player and possibly stop making mistakes which leads to cards in the future. Newcastle should gamble on signing Morelos as he is a proven goalscorer – the kind of player that Newcastle desperately need.