If you took Antonio Colak’s movement and finishing ability, and combined it with Alfredo Morelos’ physical prowess and wily link-play, and you’d have one of the most feared centre-forwards in Europe at your disposal. As it is, both of Rangers’ first-choice strikers have their strengths but some pretty well-established weaknesses too.
Colak is the most lethal marksman in Scotland. But the Croatian has struggled to make the same impact on the European stage, his somewhat one-dimensional style and lack of off-the-ball presence leaving Rangers almost one-man light against elite opposition. Morelos, meanwhile, brings strength and tenacity but, with just two goals in 11 games, is far too prone to bouts of profligacy.
Now, hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course. But Terem Moffi’s outstanding start to the Ligue 1 season with Lorient – coupled with Rangers’ ongoing difficulties both in domestic and European competition – may have the Glasgow giants wishing they could turn back the clock.
Rangers turned down chance to sign Ligue 1 hotshot Terem Moffi
Rangers, per Het Laaste Nieuws, decided against paying the £4.5 million fee required to bring Moffi to Ibrox during the summer of 2020. At the time, that decision was easy to understand. Moffi had only joined Belgian outfit Kortrijk for around £300,000 from Lithuanian football a couple of months earlier.
Perhaps Rangers felt that his run of one-goal-every-other-game was unsustainable. Perhaps they felt that, a nearly £5 million, this was too costly a risk.
Two years on, Moffi flying high around the top of the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts. He’s hit eight in 11 (a record actually superior to his time at Kortrijk). As such, anyone looking to sign the Nigeria international now would have to pay a damn sight more than £4.5 million.
“I have great faith in Terem,” Lorient coach Regis Le Bris says of a striker who combines Morelos’ bullishness with Colak’s ruthlessness. “He’s a player who can play in the biggest leagues. He still has quite a few things he needs to work on. But, just like any young player, he has lots of potential.”
Only Neymar and Jonathan David are outscoring Moffi in France’s top flight. He’s hit the target more regularly than Lionel Messi, and just as often as Kylian Mbappe; ensuring that pre-season relegation-candidates Lorient continue to keep the pace with Paris Saint-Germain at the summit.
Smash Colak and Morelos together and you’d have a potentially top-class number nine. A number nine like Terem Moffi.
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