Alfredo Morelos will have been glad to see the back of 2023, the former Rangers striker struggled with form, fitness and injuries in a year where little went right.
Now at Santos, despite reports of a release clause following their historic relegation from Serie A, the Colombian remains on the books of the Brazilians.
Finances are said to have been an issue with the clause being dependent on Santos paying up the contract of Alfredo Morelos but it now looks as though the ex-Rangers fans’ favourite could be set for a reprieve.
Alfredo Morelos in post-Rangers chance to succeed
Part of the reason, when he was fit, that El Bufalo barely played was because of the form of Marcos Leonardo.
The young striker almost single handedly kept his team in the top flight with 21 goals and he was always going to attract a lot of attention, especially from Europe.
Reporting on X, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Benfica is where Leonardo will be playing his football from now on with the Portuguese outfit having a bid of £15.5m accepted.
What this means for Alfredo Morelos, is that all rumours of a potential return to Rangers should be out to bed as his role at Santos now becomes more important.
With money tight, they will struggle to recruit for their promotion push so it may be that they decide to give Morelos a second chance instead, despite picking up more yellow cards than he scored goals.
A statistic made worse by the fact that he failed to hit the net at all after joining his new club in September.
Rangers have added more firepower themselves in Fabio Silva with the on loan Wolves forward looking to push for a starting role after the winter break.
Lawrence Shankland has also been strongly linked and the chances of Alfredo Morelos doing his thing at Ibrox once again diminish by the week.
One thing is certain, if he doesn’t get himself fit and focussed, Santos will be his last chance to make it with a big club, another year like 2023 and even a player with his record will struggle to find a club willing to pick up his salary.
As he has already learned the hard way, sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
