Frank Castaneda has joined Polish outfit Warta Poznan on a free transfer while bringing an end to speculation regarding a potential move to Rangers, as reported by Poznan Nowiny Lokalne.
Did you know that the Colombian national team have failed to score in seven of their last eight games? If you’re surprised by that particular statistic, imagine how Alfredo Morelos feels.
The Rangers talisman did not play even a second of football during the recent South American international break. That he wasn’t trusted to come off the bench, with Colombia chasing a goal in 1-0 defeats to Peru and Argentina, speaks volumes about where he stands in Reinaldo Rueda’s thinking.
Fortunately, Morelos’ manager at club level values him far more highly than Rueda does.
The barrel-chested 25-year-old has been his Buffalo-in-a-china-shop best since returning to Glasgow. In fact, some argue that Morelos has never looked better. And that’s quite the statement, given that he didn’t exactly struggle for goals during Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox tenure.
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Morelos, under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, looks a more complete, controlled, composed performer. Gone are the temper tantrums, replaced by a dead-eyed focus and a new-found consistency. With Rangers balancing a tense title fight and a daunting Europa League clash against Borussia Dortmund, Morelos could hardly have hit form – career-best form you might add – at a better time.
Kemar Roofe, meanwhile, scored his first goal in over two months during Sunday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup win at Annan Athletic. So, with Morelos back from South America and with Roofe returning to form following a spate of injuries, speculation linking Frank Castaneda with a move to Ibrox has gone understandably quiet.
The Sunday Post claimed a few weeks ago that Rangers were weighing up a shock swoop for Castaneda. Another Colombian forward and one who scored 33 goals in 43 games for Sheriff Tiraspol last term, playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League group-stages.
Castaneda’s contract ran out in December, while Morelos was packing his bags and Roofe was getting himself acquainted with the treatment table.
After two months out of the game, Castaneda found a new club at last. This weekend, he surprisingly putting pen to paper on a short-term deal with a side sitting just five points off the bottom of the Polish Ekstraklasa table.
“He is an active player on the pitch, mobile, likes to be on the ball often. He can finish very well,” says Radoslaw Mozyrko, Warta Poznan’s sporting director.
“Frank is very ambitious. He wants to score as many goals as possible and help us stay in Ekstraklasa.
“We were interested for some time. But, at the beginning, he was beyond our reach, financially. However, due to the fact that the player already has certain plans for the new season, some clubs decided not to hire Frank, and some hesitated.
“The interest in him was really high, and we took advantage of the indecision of others, conducted the talks efficiently and quickly closed the transfer.”
A quick fix?
Castaneda will become a free-agent again in July. Perhaps, if he can emulate his Sherrif displays in Poland, Rangers will come calling again.
As Mozyrko himself admits, Castaneda is only passing through.
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