Alfredo Morelos Is Coming Back To The Rangers Under Clement?

Let me preface this by saying, before I’ve looked over the stats, I’m not one for going back to former players. Especially when they left following a season where it was unanimously agreed that they ‘downed tools’. That being said, social media has been going wild with the notion of the return of Alfredo Morelos to Rangers.

With Santos being relegated, for the first time in their history, rumours are circulating that the Colombian may be allowed to leave on loan for 6 months, or even released from his contract. Due to injuries he only actually managed 3 appearances (1 start) in the Brazilian Serie A. He never managed a goal in those appearances but did manage to pick up 2 yellow cards. Some things never change eh?

This article will look at how Morelos performed for Rangers last season and how the current Rangers strikers are performing.

Alfredo Morelos Last Season

These were the numbers the Colombian put up in the Scottish Premiership last season;

– 32 Appearances (15 Starts)

– 11 Goals (13.58 xG)

– 5 Assists

– 0.62 Goals Per90

– 4.73 Shots Per90

– 1.75 Shots on Target Per90

– 13% Goal Conversion

– 12 Big Chances Missed

– 1.69 Chances Created Per90

I remembered them not being spectacular but for a main striker, these are poor numbers. That being said, how do they compare to Rangers other strikers this season.

Rangers Strikers This Season

Kemar Roofe;

– 7 Appearances (4 Starts)

– 1 Goal (0.36 xG)

– 0 Assists

– 0.29 Goals Per90

– 1.16 Shots Per90

– 0.29 Shots on Target Per90

– 25% Goal Conversion

– 0 Big Chances Missed

– 0.87 Chances Created Per90

Cyriel Dessers;

– 12 Appearances (10 Starts)

– 4 Goals (5.61 xG)

– 0 Assists

– 0.50 Goals Per90

– 4.10 Shots Per90

– 2.36 Shots on Target Per90

– 12% Goal Conversion

– 11 Big Chances Missed

– 1.49 Chances Created Per90

Danilo;

– 12 Appearances (5 Starts)

– 4 Goals (5.49 xG)

– 1 Assist

– 0.68 Goals Per90

– 6.11 Shots Per90

– 3.06 Shots on Target Per90

– 11% Goal Conversion

– 9 Big Chances Missed

– 1.87 Chances Created Per90

Looking at these numbers, it’s clear that all of Rangers strikers this season have also been underperforming domestically. Dessers and Danilo have almost the same number of ‘big chances missed’ as Morelos in less than half of the appearances.

That is a genuinely worrying stat, Rangers can’t afford for their strikers to keep missing that volume of clear cut chances. It is eventually going to cause Rangers to drop even more points and potentially fall further behind.

Is Alfredo Morelos a Genuine Option?

Despite his lack of game time for Santos, pictures circulated of the Colombian when he first joined looking in the best shape he’s been in, in a couple of seasons at least. That being said, there was a reason he was allowed to leave for free.

Despite his numbers not being far off the numbers of the current Rangers strikers, it was evidently clear he didn’t put 100% into his playing time last season. Is that the type of player you would really want to welcome back?

At his best, he would be the best striker in this Rangers team. Europa League Alfredo Morelos would walk into the starting line-up at the current moment, that isn’t saying much though.

Conclusion

After looking at the stats, I’m not as opposed to a Alfredo Morelos return as I was. That being said, I would rather Philippe Clement and the new recruitment set up identify a player that would suit the managers system.

Is Morelos an option for you? Would you welcome him as a short-term option or would you rather the recruitment team go out and identify someone who suits Clement’s system more? It’s not clear how much money is available in January and that could change everything.

If there’s money to spend, I’d hope they identify someone other than Morelos. If there isn’t a lot to spend, a six month loan for the Colombian may not be a terrible idea.

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