Alfredo Morelos - a 'relaxed child' who started as a midfielder before becoming Rangers star

Alfredo Morelos was a "a very quiet boy, he had the personality of a relaxed child" according to former coach Jose Vicente Fernandez who revealed the Rangers striker played as a midfielder for his youth team.

Alfredo Morelos was a "relaxed child". Picture: SNS

The Colombian star has been a huge hit in Scottish football since arriving from his homeland via HJK in Finland, finding the back of the net more than 60 times.

On top of that, he hasn't been too far from the headlines with an irascible nature which led to five red cards last season. It saw many pundits call for Rangers to cut their losses with a player they value at upwards of £15million.

Alfredo Morelos with his youth team (middle row, fifth from the left).

Steven Gerrard saw differently. The Premiership league leaders have reaped the benefits of their manager's patience and loyalty. The 23-year-old is the club's top goal scorer and has once again been called up to the Colombian national team.

He will be hoping to get the chance to feature in friendlies against Chile and Algeria and show those back home that Morelos the player, who so often plays on the edge, roughing up opponents, is at odds with Morelos the boy.

Fernandez, who is known as Profe [teacher] Chente to youngsters, told The Scotsman: "Alfredo Jose Morelos Avilez arrived at Club Deportivo Fumigadores at the age of five, he was a normal boy.

"He was a very quiet boy, he had the personality of a relaxed child."

Morelos as a youngster.

Morelos is a player of contradictions.

So selfless in the work he puts in, whether it is out of possession or in possession away from the box. Yet, when he gets sight of goal he has the selfish streak of all great strikers.

It is hard to imagine, but the Rangers ace was not always a striker, playing further back as a kid.

But it was only a matter of time before Profe Chente made the decision which set Morelos on a path which has led him to Govan. Something which Club Deportivo Fumigadores take great pride in, regularly providing updates on how the player is faring via their Facebook page.

Morelos was part of Club Deportivo Fumigadores.

Fernandez said: "He started playing as a midfielder and he stood out for his strength and speed, he started to improve his ability on the ball and scored a lot of goals. For this reason I decided to play him as a forward. His confidence grew and he scored important goals for the team in Cerete (the town where Morelos is from) and Montería, the capital of Córdoba (a region/department in Colombia).

"At 13 years old, Alfredo was seen by coaches from the Cordoba Department team and he was called to join the group. He played three years in the department team.

"Alfredo’s family was short on resources and we always supported him so he could move forward. Alfredo’s development was very impressive, I would take him to play with older age group sides.

"To start with he didn’t play many minutes so that he would lose his fear but over time he gained confidence and the rhythm of play until he started to score goals for a team three age groups up.

"For the Cordoba team he also scored a lot of goals and was an important player."

He may have grown up, switched continents and developed an edge but some things never change.