With just a couple of weeks left of the transfer window, Steven Gerrard’s primary concern will be keeping a hold of the key players he has in his squad – unless an offer too good to be true comes in.
One man who has already been the subject of speculation is Alfredo Morelos, the Colombian international attracting interest from Porto in recent weeks and, after missing out on Champions League football, the general consensus is that his days at Ibrox could be numbered.
Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Noel Whelan believes that this isn’t necessarily the case:
“I don’t think he’ll leave because Rangers are out of the Champions League.
“It gives Steven Gerrard a good chance to see the character of some players. Do they still want to fight for the club? Do they want to be here?
“Morelos has only just come back, it’s about seeing what’s happening in the dressing room. That’s the question.
“They still have the Europa League and they did well in that competition last season.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Rangers can go even further this season.
“I’m sure Rangers are a tight unit but Morelos has been fragile in the past.
“Let’s see how he reacts.”
Gerrard has already spoken about Morelos’s love of mid-week football, in particular European nights. The fact that he was our best player in the home defeat to Malmo is an indicator of how important he is to the team at this level, regardless of how match fit he might be.
He is the club’s record goal scorer in continental football, now three clear of Ally McCoist and few would back against him adding to this tally against Alashkert, hopefully firing his side into the group stages of the Europa League for the fourth year in a row in the process.
There’s no doubt that one day the 25-year old will want to test himself regularly in the Champions League, with the winners of the Scottish Premiership getting guaranteed group stage football, Whelan might just be right, if we can persuade him to stick around one more year that is.