Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos will come good, says former Ibrox captain Lee McCulloch, while Gary Holt praises Gers winger Glenn Middleton.
Alfredo Morelos of Rangers competes with Basilio Ndong of FC Shkupi
Morelos did not play well for Rangers during Steven Gerrard’s side’s 2-0 win against FK Shkupi at Ibrox in the first leg of the Europa League first round qualifier last Thursday.
The 22-year-old – who has been on the books of Rangers since the summer of 2017 when he moved to the Gers from Finnish team HJK Helsinki for a transfer fee reported by Sky Sports to be worth £1.5 million – started the match and played for the entire 90 minutes.
The Colombian striker did not have a great second half of last season, although he did end the 2017-18 Scottish Premiership campaign with 14 league goals, according to WhoScored.
Former Rangers captain McCulloch, who was on the books of the Ibrox club from 2007 until 2015, has backed Morelos to come good, and the ex-Scotland international has also observed that the 22-year-old striker is slimmer this season.
McCulloch wrote in The Glasgow Evening Times: “Morelos is young and raw. He is far from the finished article. Morelos is also slimmer, which is a positive, and we all know the team was not fit enough last season.
“His problem is that Rangers is a hard and unforgiving school in which to learn your trade. He will come good. He showed enough last season to suggest there is a really good player in there.”
Keeping faith
Morelos is only 22 years of age, and one should remember that the 2017-18 campaign was also his first in Scotland.
There is no doubt that the Colombian is a very talented and promising young striker, and Rangers fans should have faith in him.
Meanwhile, former Norwich City midfielder Gary Holt has spoken highly of 18-year-old Rangers winger Glenn Middleton, who joined the Gers from the Canaries in the January transfer window.
Holt told The Daily Record: “I was astounded he got let go by Norwich City but sometimes if you’ve been at a club for so long, especially coming in at such a young age, it can help to move on and improve your game.
“When you’re in England and you’re playing the Chelseas, Arsenals and Tottenhams in the FA Youth Cup and Under-21 league they’re big games and you’re up against superstars.
“But that didn’t faze him. He took it in his stride and he embraced it and almost tried too hard at times to be the best player on the park but you’d rather that than going into his shell.”
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