Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has provided a surprising transfer update on Alfredo Morelos, asserting that it has ‘gone really quiet’ [The Herald] despite a journalist claiming just days ago that a deal had been agreed for his exit.
The last few months have been dominated by speculation about El Bufalo, who reportedly agreed personal terms with Ligue 1 side Lille in July [Sky Sports].
However, the two clubs had been unable to agree on a fee and the striker has remained at Ibrox for the early stages of the 2020/21 Premiership campaign.
On Wednesday afternoon, though, it finally looked like an announcement on his departure was imminent.
That’s because Colombian journalist Yanjane Meneses G., tweeted to claim that a deal worth €20 million (£18.5m) had been agreed with Lille.
Gerrard’s surprising comments during press duties on Friday suggest that information was false, though.
The Gers boss said Morelos is in contention to face Hamilton this weekend and claims that interest levels in the forward have dipped in recent times.
“I saw Alfredo again [on Friday] morning and since my chat with him earlier in the week I have seen a difference in his focus and how he has gone about things in terms of his application,” he said, as quoted by the The Herald. “We will manage this situation day by day.”
“I do feel for him slightly because his head has been turned and at stages weeks and weeks ago there was a lot of interest and a lot of phone calls coming in and then all of a sudden it has gone really quiet.”
Rangers boss Gerrard suggests interest in Morelos has cooled – Verdict
Lille have been the team most consistently linked with the Colombia international across the transfer window, but other big clubs including Marseille [Le10Sport], Brighton, Sevilla and Sassuolo [FootMercato] have all also been credited with an interest.
It seems that no concrete bids have landed for some time, though, with interested parties perhaps dissuaded by Rangers’ £20m valuation.
El Bufalo‘s form has been poor recently with his record of three goals in his last 16 appearances for the Gers hardly standing out from the crowd.
However, his excellent returns in the Europa League last season showed potential suitors exactly what he’s capable of when fit, focused and firing on all cylinders.
With the transfer window open until October, there’s still a lot of potential for twists in this transfer saga, but as things stand, contrary to Yanjane Meneses’ claim, Morelos is still very much a Rangers player.
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