Alfredo Morelos faces Rangers career precipice amid staggering creative drop off

As hard as it is to believe after watching him trudge off on 55 minutes following an average display against Brondby, in 2019 he was the top scorer in the Europa League - and not only hitting the net with regularity but rag-dolling defenders with an alacrity that made big clubs take notice.

He quickly made a trademark of using his not insignificant backside as a way to shield the ball before swivelling his hips and nipping away from his marker with a deceivingly rapid burst of pace. He was a player that appeared to have it all: quick, strong and with a keen eye for goal, able to score all sorts of goals – headers, volleys and tap ins. And it wasn’t just SPFL journeyman he was bodying. Even established international stars like Pepe didn’t leave skirmishes with Morelos unscathed. The talent was undoubtedly there to mix it with the best of them.

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When Rangers turned down £16.5m from Lille for the striker in the summer of 2020 it’s because they believed, like many observers, that they would be accepting less than the market rate. It seemed a strong move by a club on the up, refusing to take less than their valuation for a crucial player. Sadly, it now looks like an error.

Morelos’ form has nosedived and is on a worrying season by season drop in productivity.

His combined goals and assists per game has plummeted every season he has performed under Steven Gerrard, with his figures from this term so far showing player nearly half as effective as his first year under the Scouser.

Those wishing to defend the striker will rightly point to a changed role in the team that affects this data. Morelos is no longer the battering ram of old, charging around trying to disrupt opponents. No, rather than that blunt instrument, he’s been refined to become a classic, refined false nine in the mould of Roberto Firmino.

This iteration of Morelos has the task of dragging defenders out of their comfort zone and leaving space for those around him to exploit. But while that means a likely reduction in goals, there should be in improvement in assists - that hasn’t happened.

And while Morelos has improved his link-up play significantly while in Scotland, he’s still be prone to lazy passes and slack lay-offs. For every brilliant flick that comes off, as he did against Ross County for Joe Aribo’s brilliantly worked goal, there is the frustrating inverse sure to follow not far behind.

Some have suggested that the striker has been over-coached and his new role has neutered his edge.

And yet, on the big occasion, when he’s right up for the fight, he can still bring the old rampaging Buffalo to the table. For 60 minutes, until the game was gone, he ripped Malmo asunder in the Champions League qualifier at Ibrox in August. When he wants to raise his levels, he seems to be capable. There’s always been some truth to the notion he brings his A game to the European theatre, something a smirking Gerrard once acknowledged with a comment that suggested the striker steps up because he knows scouts will be watching.

And yet, like his performances, while there’s still the odd flurry of activity, Morelos transfer stories are now somewhat thin on the ground.

It’s almost like the striker himself has failed to make the link between performances, his numbers and the kind of club who might look to give him the big contract he craves. Like all players today, he's never hidden a desire to play in the Premier League. Scouts have watched him over the years and while many were put off by his poor disciplinary record, something to his credit is now long filed away as a youthful stage of tempestuousness, it’s now performances that seem the issue. A scout will always ponder how he can expect to score goals against the elite when struggling against Ross County and St Mirren. That may be an unfair diminishment of our game but it’s how his paltry goal tally will be viewed.

With a contract set to expire in 18 months, his representatives faces some tough questions, because the path he is currently on may see him struggle to match his, very lavish, Ibrox salary elsewhere.

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For Steven Gerrard, the situation is equally fraught. Morelos represents a high-value asset when he’s at his best. A deal to sell could bring in millions of pounds – money that could transform club and squad -but that won’t be the case if he’s not at his best. It may be the manager has been hoping Morelos could play his way back to his best but it’s not looking likely at this moment.

The manager was direct about the performances of his entire front trio in Denmark stating: “Maybe I got the front three wrong today, or the front three didn’t bring to the game what I wanted and what I expected of them. There are two sides to it.”

Gerrard wants to see his players score goals and create but he also wants to see defensive discipline in closing passing lane and offering out balls with runs in behind. At one point during the commentary for BT Sport’s coverage of the game last night, Alex Rae let his exasperation with the striker’s movement be known, pointing out that he hadn’t moved to offer a teammate in trouble an option in behind. This may well be the type of issue Gerrard is referring to and decide there will have to be a change.

Morelos has had plenty of chances to find his form, and can’t realistically claim harsh treatment. It may be that a spell on the sidelines to reflect on what’s required to be a Rangers no.9 will provoke him to prove he’s still the player that dominated European competition week in, week out.

He needs to find his hunger and drive to get goals once again or his career dreams could take a less glamourous turn. He stands on a precipice. Only Alfredo himself can find a safe route across to his promised land.