An update has emerged on FC Porto’s pursuit of Alfredo Morelos regarding how much they are prepared to pay for the Rangers forward.
What’s the talk?
According to The Scottish Sun, the Portuguese giants are preparing to submit a £10m offer for the Colombian striker, whose agent was in Portugal last week amid speculation over Morelos’ future, and Porto are now set to firm up their interest with a bid.
They had been working under strict guidelines after being punished by UEFA for player trading offences, but now that they are free of those shackles, they are attempting to bring Morelos to the Estadio Dragao.
Speaking anonymously to The Athletic in 2019, a Scottish Premiership player said that Morelos is “non-stop” and labeled him as a nightmare for defenders, saying: “In my experience, he is just non-stop.
“There’s never a time when he’s walking about or not interested in the game. He’s always involved, whether that’s taking you away or dragging you closer to the ball.
“He’s kind of dropping deep now and going out wide. That’s a nightmare for defenders because he’s your player that you’re meant to be man-marking but then you’re dragged out of position and you’ve got midfield runners taking his space. That means you need to start talking to your full-backs and centre-mids to start swapping players, which makes it a lot more difficult.”
Gerrard would be fuming
Rangers must avoid a major error this summer and reject Porto’s £10m bid for Morelos when it arrives at Ross Wilson’s desk next week. Wilson needs to immediately veto the proposal and demand a larger sum of money for the club’s main centre-forward.
When Porto were initially linked with the 25-year-old, we suggested that Rangers should look to cash in on him if they are able to receive a club-record £20m deal from the Portuguese club. However, £10m would not be enough to take the move over that threshold, which is why Wilson needs to turn it down.
That fee is only half of the £20m originally touted for Morelos, and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard would surely be fuming if Wilson allowed the Colombian to leave for such a paltry sum. £20m could be a major boost to Rangers’ coffers and allow Gerrard to improve his squad in several areas, making the team better as a whole rather than relying on one outstanding individual. This is why selling Morelos could make sense, but not for the significantly reduced fee of £10m.
The £33,000-per-week beast provided an impressive 17 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Rangers last season, showing that he is a crucial member of Gerrard’s squad, and that is why the Gers should not jump to accept any fee for his services.
They need to get enough from the deal to sign a replacement and strengthen other positions if they are to justify selling him, and Gerrard would be fuming at losing a key player if he cannot duly strengthen. Wilson should stand firm and keep Morelos at Ibrox until a £20m offer comes through the door.
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