When Santos were relegated from Serie A, Rangers were inevitably linked with Alfredo Morelos with Philippe Clement in need of striker reinforcements.
The Gers boss went early by adding Fabio Silva to his squad with Oscar Cortes also making the move to Ibrox.
Last year was one that Santos and Alfredo Morelos will want to forget but the former Rangers star is on the road to recovery after his return from injury.
Santos see glimpse of the real Alfredo Morelos
Since signing for the Brazilian giants in September, El Bufalo has managed just 76 minutes of football and still managed to get booked twice – some things never change.
As a player who Andy Halliday and Greg Stewart recently agreed was the worst trainer they had ever seen, when Morelos missed pre-season training in the summer, he was never going to return to action in decent shape.
After getting up to speed, the inevitable injury occurred and he was helpless to stop Santos dropping into Serie B for the first time in their history.
Rumours of contract cancellation clauses and being able to walk away were never confirmed but he has agreed to join several teammates by cutting his wage as they look to seal promotion at the first attempt.
Posting on X, Santos showed a streamlined looking Morelos displaying the sort of finishing that made him a favourite at Ibrox with the player himself taking to Instagram to show his delight at being back in the dressing room.
With no Marcos Leonardo, Santos will need someone to score their goals and be the talisman, few players carry a team or lead a forward line as well as a fit and firing Morelos.
Against Guarani, the 27-year old got his chance to get some minutes into his legs as a 75th minute substitute and will be keen to get up to full speed as soon as possible.
Santos fans finally got a glimpse of what Alfredo Morelos is capable of in the 82nd minute when he played Guilherme through for his second goal of the evening with an inch perfect reverse ball off his weaker foot.
The next chapter of an eventful career has kicked off, but this time in a good way.
