Steven Gerrard has been forced to call out to Alfredo Morelos for help just weeks after claiming the Rangers man’s head had been turned.
It is not the best idea to burn bridges with your own players. That’s a lesson that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard should have learned by now after being forced to call out to Alfredo Morelos for help merely weeks after he had claimed that his head had been turned by the transfer speculation surrounding him.
That is no surprise though as every season there always appears to be a lot of rumours surrounding Morelos but incredibly none of them ever come to fruition. Just this season, multiple media outlets had claimed that he had been earmarked to be Victor Osimhen’s replacement at Lille. But by now it is clear that that move is not going to happen.
What makes the situation even tougher for Gerrard is that neither Itten nor Roofe have set the world on fire since arriving at Ibrox in the summer. Roofe has 2 goals from 6 appearances while Itten has zero. As a result, Morelos is the manager’s best hope when they take on Willem II in the Europa League qualifiers.
And he has been forced to plead with the Colombian while also dangling the carrot of a possible transfer move in his face. As reported by The Scottish Sun, he said:
"“Alfredo is really excited about playing in Europe. He knows for himself that he has to perform if he is selected to play. He knows there are a lot of eyes on him.“There is a big demand from myself, coaching staff and his team-mates because we put a lot of responsibility on him. He has been excellent in this competition for us so far. We know he is a real threat.“As a team, we have to supply him with the right service but he is definitely capable of playing well at this level because he has done it numerous times.”"
With the transfer window quickly running out, Morelos might be forced to extend his stay at Ibrox. Unfortunately for the Rangers, neither the player nor the manager seem to want it.