Alfredo Morelos is on his way back to Glasgow.
The Colombian international striker has enjoyed his holiday at home, post Copa America and now it’s time to get back to business.
Given that he has spent time in his native Colombia (a UK Govt red-list country) outside of the ‘elite sports bubble’ with his teammates at the recent tournament in Brazil, it now begs the question as to whether the player will have to spend a full 10 days in isolation, before he can rejoin the Rangers squad.
With the Premiership opener just five days away and the Gers first Champions League qualifier three days after that, manager Steven Gerrard has already aired his frustration on the situation, when questioned last week by Sky Sports on what happens next with his talisman:
“I don’t know, I can’t answer that question for you. We want the best version of Alfredo. That is all that we have ever asked for.”
“I have read a lot of stuff around Alfredo – I know where it is coming from. I don’t know what is going to happen with him.”
Gerrard was coy on his feelings, but the sentiment came across clearly, as he continued,
“No, I am not frustrated. I am very happy, we are just on the back of a fantastic season. I am so excited moving forward into the next season.”
“I get asked this question every window, every few weeks because you read more about Alfredo in terms of who he is linked with or where he is possibly going to go rather than talking about what he does on the football pitch.”
Distraction
Realistically, it could be a fortnight before ‘The Buffalo’ is back in the thick of it, once his fitness and condition has been assessed, by that stage the Scottish champions will hopefully be gearing up for a Champions League playoff.
Additionally, there is also the spectre of a proposed move for Morelos, with Porto continuing to be linked with the frontman.
That noise is not being stopped by the player’s representatives but it only provides a distraction at Ibrox until a significant, acceptable offer is received and only at that point, will Rangers enter negotiations.
An exciting sub-plot is also building with the arrival and emergence of Fashion Sakala – a friendly rivalry can hopefully bring out the best in both players as well as the exciting prospect of both playing alongside each other.
As always, when Morelos is involved, there is plenty of attention and the next few weeks is set to be an interesting period for all at the club when his future will be resolved, one way ot another.