Does Pedro Caixinha’s admission give Aston Villa hope of landing Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos?

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Aston Villa were reportedly among five Championship clubs who sent scouts to watch Rangers hitman Alfredo Morelos in action on Friday.

It’s the nature of the Scottish game that, as soon as a player begins to stand out north of the border, speculation linking him with a move to England is never far behind.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is aware of the situation, admitting earlier in the year that the proud Scottish champions are something of a stepping stone for highly-rated talents, such as Virgil van Dijk, Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama, to earn a big-money move elsewhere in Britain, according to the Daily Record.

And it appears that his Rangers counterpart, Pedro Caixinha, is also aware that keeping one of your key players when clubs from England are offering greater wages and exposure is nigh on impossible in the modern game.

With the Scotsman reporting that Alfredo Morelos has been scouted by five Championship clubs just nine games into his Rangers career, questions are already being asked about how long Rangers could keep the Colombian at Ibrox.

“We are glad (Morelos) is being followed by English clubs. That is the reality of the market. We cannot run away from it,” Caixinha is quotes as saying by the Evening Times.

“When this club is a formulator and a seller, in this philosophy at the moment, we need to understand.”

And this should give encouragement to Aston Villa, who reportedly sent scouts to watch Morelos score his sixth in six league games against Partick Thistle on Friday night.

Whoever signs Morelos will be pulling of a real coup as the 21-year-old is a natural-born goalscorer who hit 46 in 62 games for previous club HJK Helsinki. Therefore, with Villa, Barnsley, Bristol City, Derby County and Reading already linked, expect a battle to develop in January.

And Villa, who scored fewer goals than all but two Championship sides last season, should pull out all of the stops – particularly with Scott Hogan struggling with injuries and Ross McCormack unlikely to pull on claret and blue ever again.

Villa need a player to take the pressure of Jonathan Kodjia and Morelos could be the man who makes the top six look like a realistic ambition.