Rangers stars are catching the eye with their impressive run in Europe
Amid reports that Alfredo Morelos was set to leave for Ligue 1 side Lille in the summer, Steven Gerrard admitted that the striker’s head had been turned.
Although the 24-year-old remained in Glasgow, for much of this season he has failed to replicate his form from previous seasons.
That has all changed in recent weeks, with the Colombian looking back to his best alongside Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi in the Rangers attack.
Morelos, who reportedly earns £32,500 per week, has been linked with numerous clubs during his time at Ibrox.
Among them are West Ham (The Sun, April 2020), Atletico Madrid (Goal, April 2020) and Leicester (The Sun, May 2020).
Ibrox legend Brian Laudrup watched Morelos run the Royal Antwerp defence ragged during both legs of their Europa League round of 32 tie, and he believes impressive performances on the European stage could see him attract interest from bigger leagues.
Writing in his column on page 93 of Tuesday’s Scottish Daily Mail, Laudrup said: “I wonder if Royal Antwerp’s defenders have stopped having nightmares about Alfredo Morelos yet.
“Five days might not be long enough for them to recover from the experience.
“Everyone has been looking for adjectives to describe how Morelos performed in the last round of the Europa League. Steven Gerrard called him ‘unplayable’ and ‘sublime’. I’ll go for ‘absolutely phenomenal’.
“Across both legs of the tie, he produced two of the best performances of his entire career.
“Gerrard also said he knew why Morelos loves playing in Europe. I think we can all guess that the Colombian takes something extra from being able to showcase his talent to the biggest audience possible.
“Regardless of what his motivation might be, Morelos has saved his best performances for the latter part of the season. He looks ready to drive Rangers over the finishing line in the Premiership and spearhead their push to go further in the Europa League.
“I don’t know what might then happen with him in terms of a possible transfer this summer. That will be up to Rangers. And the market.
“But if Morelos is being driven on by a desire to make sure he goes out on a high and is remembered as an excellent striker, then you know what? That’s more than fine by me. He deserves that kind of legacy.
“Rangers took the decision to keep Morelos last summer after Lille’s protracted pursuit didn’t end in a deal. I recall the French club’s president claiming they had offered £16million.
“You could say there was a risk attached to turning down that kind of money and Gerrard spoke at one point about the player’s head being turned. His season didn’t get off to the greatest of starts.
“But look at it now. Seven points away from the Premiership title and two games against Slavia Prague for a place in the last eight of the Europa League.
“That’s history-making stuff with Morelos at the heart of it. The financial aspect can also stack up again. Because performances of the type he produced against Antwerp are exactly what will bring big money back to the table.
“All the eyes of interested clubs in bigger, richer leagues will be focused on continental competition at this part of the season.
“Morelos could be playing fantastically well in Scotland and people at those clubs would still question whether he could take the next step. By shining in the Europa League, the 24-year-old has shown he has what it takes.”
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