As soon as there was a clause mentioned in Alfredo Morelos’s Santos contract that allowed him to be released if they were relegated, there was speculation that a return to Rangers could be possible.
The 27-year old, after a disaster in their last game, was part of the squad that was relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history so, will Gers boss Philippe Clement be picking up the phone.
With 124 goals for Rangers and dozens of assists, Alfredo Morelos has an outstanding record on paper, however, there is one reason why Clement won’t be entertaining any idea of a return for El Bufalo.
Why Alfredo Morelos won’t be Philippe Clement’s cup of tea
So far, since arriving at Ibrox, Clement has had to use different formations and pick different players, some out of position.
It has been a group effort and the gaffer has seen a mentality shift already, there is no ‘I’ in team and all that.
Speaking a couple of weeks ago, there was an interesting quote from the manager that all but confirms why Alfredo Morelos won’t be back at Rangers:
“I want ambitious people in the building.
“I want to create winners. And winners are, for me, people who always want to win. Not one competition or two. They want to win everything they do, they want to win in training.”
On it’s own, that maybe doesn’t add up but there was definitely a side of Morelos that was selfish – he didn’t always put the team or squad first if we are being completely honest.
But, when you add it to this reponse about Alfredo Morelos when Steven Gerrard was manager, it makes a lot more sense:
“He likes this competition… and I know why he likes this competition!”
When asked with a follow up question if it was because of the extra exposure that the Europa League gives, he was more than a little coy.
Basically, his manager has hinted that Morelos is playing for himself and his career, not his team and the bigger picture.
If he had applied the same work rate in his last season more consistently, he wouldn’t be looking for another club already.
Philippe Clement is building a team, a squad with harmony, Alfredo Morelos is many things but, after being disciplined by three different managers at Rangers, he is far from the type of personality that the boss is looking for.
Anyway, he’s got two strikers scoring goals now…
