Glasgow Rangers loanee Umar Sadiq should get the chance to make his debut at Ibrox on Sunday.
While Steven Gerrard will be pleased that Rangers cleared their first hurdle as they look to reach the group-stages of the Europa League by beating Shkupi in the first qualifying round, there will be some concerns for the new Gers boss heading into their next pre-season friendly.
A goalless draw in Macedonia suggested that there is plenty of work ahead for the Light Blues, especially with Allan McGregor proving to be busy in the stalemate.
One player who certainly looks to be stuck in something of a rut is Alfredo Morelos. The Colombian was lethal at times last season, but he failed to score in either of the European games and his latest performance received plenty of criticism from the fans.
The problem for Gerrard right now is that he hardly has the resources up front to make drastic changes. Kenny Miller has left, Jason Cummings’ loan deal was not extended and Eduardo Herrera has left for the coming campaign, leaving Morelos and new signing Umar Sadiq as the only available forwards in the senior side.
With Sadiq boasting little experience himself, Gerrard may have hoped that Morelos would have started the campaign in some form so he could integrate the Roma loanee in gradually, but perhaps the window has opened for the 21-year-old to stake a claim to begin the domestic season as the Rangers boss’ first-choice marksman.
Sadiq has a promising record from his career so far, but the loan deal appeared to be something of a roll of the dice. But with Morelos currently struggling to make an impact, perhaps the Rangers fans will get a sense of whether the Nigerian will prove an inspired signing or not much sooner than they would have expected.
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