ARTHUR NUMAN was in Eindhoven to see Rangers earn a return to the Champions League with a stunning win over PSV – but he couldn’t help thinking about the one player who wasn’t there.
Alfredo Morelos missed the crucial European triumph in the Netherlands after being dropped from the matchday squad with Giovanni van Bronckhorst concerned over his fitness and attitude.
The Rangers boss made the huge call to leave the Colombian in Glasgow in a strong message on his expectations from his playing staff.
And Numan is hopeful the tough experience of watching his team-mates celebrate from afar will provoke a positive reaction from the striker to save his Rangers career.
In his 5Stars column, Numan commented: “I wanted this column to be all about the success and to praise James Tavernier and the rest of the squad for their skill, bravery and resilience in the past few weeks during the qualifiers. They deserve massive credit because they have been sensational.
“But I also need to mention Alfredo Morelos. He would have been at home last night in Scotland watching the game, hopefully full of regrets that he'd made a huge mistake.
“He should have been with the squad, helping them with their biggest game in more than a decade. But he was dropped by Giovanni and left behind.
“After several warnings, Giovanni drew the line. Giovanni had had enough of the striker's bad attitude and ill-discipline, on and off the field.”
Van Bronckhorst revealed he would hold talks with Morelos yesterday (Sunday) after the win over County at Ibrox on Saturday. And the manager offered a positive update on the Morelos situation with the striker judged to have shown improvement in his attitude after his squad axe.
The Rangers boss said: “Morelos worked hard this week so I’ll sit down [on Sunday] and speak with him and his future.
“He’s still our player, he knows what he has to do to become available again.
“The first week’s reaction he showed was very positive.”
For Numan, there are still major question marks over whether Morelos still has a future at Ibrox. The striker is into the final 12 months of his contracts and talks over a new deal were put on hold after the recent issue.
Despite the situation, Numan reckons Morelos is still a valuable asset for Rangers as he urged clubs to “test the market” with a bid for the striker.
Adding that Morelos could return to form and be handed a new Ibrox deal, Numan added: “I'm not sure what the future holds for Alfredo but I'd definitely be encouraging other clubs to bid for him, test the market and see what fee might be out there.
“His value may not be as high as it should be because clubs are aware they'd be taking a 'risk' with him.
“However, he is still worth a lot of money. It could well be that Rangers still decide to give him a new contract and keep him.
“A fit and firing Alfredo is a top striker, let's not forget that. But he needs to change his ways.
“The manager and the players don't want anyone about Ibrox that may risk ruining all the good work that's going on. It's going to be an interesting few days for Alfredo.”
Regardless of the Morelos outcome, Numan is thrilled to see Antonio Colak excelling at Ibrox as he branded the summer signing a “club legend” for his part in the Champions League return.
“They overcame the odds to beat a very good PSV team and I was also delighted for Antonio Colak to get the all-important winning goal,” wrote Numan. “He is now a Club Legend!
“And at a transfer fee of just £1.8million, what a fantastic piece of business.”
