What Rangers will be getting in striker Alfredo Morelos

Alfredo Morelos arriving in Glasgow on Monday ahead of his move to Rangers. Picture: SNS

Keep up to date with all our sport news on The Scotsman’s Sport page on Facebook

There are few things that stir the senses of football fans more than their club completing a deal for a striker with an impressive goal return.

Colombian forward Alfredo Morelos landed in Scotland on Monday ahead of his possible £1million move to Rangers from Finnish giants HJK Helsinki. The deal is set to be completed in due course with the player requiring a work permit.

Other than goalkeeper it will mean Pedro Caixinha has strengthened all areas of his squad. At least two new centre-backs were required and have been delivered. Ryan Jack brings balance to the midfield and Dalcio offers pace and trickery on the wing.

Yet, arguably the most important area to reinforce has been the forward position. If there was one aspect Rangers excelled in, more than any other team, it was in their profligacy. Their conversion rate was well below both Aberdeen and Celtic. The Dons scored 17 more goals with a conversion rate of 12 per cent to Rangers’ 9.3 per cent. Celtic converted 14.5 per cent of their shots, racking up 106 goals.

Last season, both Aberdeen and Celtic as well as St Johnstone and Hearts were more efficient in terms of how many times it took the team to get the ball into the final third before netting. If Rangers are to close the gap to Celtic they need to be more clinical.

Enter Alfredo Morelos.

He is pure Colombian striking talent. So far this season he has scored 11 goals in 11 league starts, last season it was 16 goals in 27 league starts. He’s also scored 19 goals in all other competitions for Klubi, including four in the Europa League.

There is a caveat to be had, and a tad patronising, but those goals have been scored in the Veikkausliiga. Mention the name Juho Makela to Hearts fans and you’ll be met with a chortle. The 33-year-old has scored 87 goals in the league in 214 appearances. He was a irrefutable failure in Scotland.

Yet, what the move from Independiente Medellin in his native Colombia has proved is that he can adapt swiftly to new surroundings. The 18 months or so in Finland has given Morelos a grounding in European football.

Seen as a relatively promising talent back home, he proved headstrong in forcing a move to Europe to develop his career.

And he has even surprised many with his goal scoring exploits, according to South American football journalist Simon Edwards, having struggled in the continent’s under-20 championships - a competition which is taken seriously by South American nations as it determines qualification to the World Cup.

Edwards, who specialises in Colombian football, told The Scotsman: “At the 2015 under-20 championship he was picked ahead of Rafael Santos Borre who was starting and scoring for Deportivo Cali and is now at Atletico Madrid, on loan at Villarreal - this was a surprise but showed his quality. But he didn’t score and after the tournament wasn’t called up again.

Why there's no longer any doubts about Celtic's Leigh Griffiths

“He scored six goals for DIM (Deportivo Independiente Medellin), but five were against weak sides in the Copa Colombia - which is like the league cup equivalent and most teams, in the first rounds, play reserve teams. That said, he was a good prospect when he moved to Finland and was progressing well. Some good indicators, but he was definitely in that second tier of talents coming out of Colombia.

“In an interview recently he said that he didn’t see much progression at Medellin so his agent found him an offer and he went. He said with the under-20s he did well at the training camps but not at the South America tournament.”

So what will he bring to Ibrox?

“He says ‘I have qualities like Falcao and Ronaldo (Brazilian), who I admire. I also like Suarez and Carlos Bacca a lot’,” said Edwards.

“Direct, confident, decent pace, nice touch and obviously now a strong finisher. I didn’t necessarily see him as an out and out number 9 box player, but it seems that is what he has become and done well.

“When he was playing for Colombia under-20s he had some nice touches and decent link up play, but never really looked like scoring. Obviously, that has changed and he does look much more effective at working the space in the opposition box for the shot.”

Watching the player in action for HJK it is obvious that he thrives around the box. No matter where the ball is in the final third he is looking to create space, an opening in which to receive the ball and shoot. He led the league in shots and shots per game last season and he is already well out in front this season. Although Rangers fans will have to get use to erratic finishing. This season he has hit the target with under 50 per cent of shots. Last season he didn’t even finish in the top 30 for this stat.

He is very much right-footed, favouring the right channel where he can drive at defences before shooting low and hard across the goalkeeper; the vast of his goals come from his right foot.

He will be a completely different striker to what Rangers have had in recent seasons. He appears to have worked on his physique and is a powerful forward. While Martyn Waghorn and Kenny Miller like to come towards the ball and Joe Garner likes to receive the ball with his back to goal, Morelos wants the ball played in front of him or to his feet where he can drive forward.

Analysing possible relationships with current Rangers players, it isn’t hard to imagine him striking up an understanding with both Barrie McKay and Kenny Miller, players who want to pass the ball forwards, the former very keen to dissect defences with through balls.

He also finds the net on a regular basis with his head. He isn’t strong aerially like Garner. He has more similarities with Liam Boyce in terms of attacking the correct space to get on the end of crosses.

For newcomers Scottish football can be an eye-opening experience and can take a little getting used to. This may be an issue early on for the player, explains Edwards, with fans perhaps having to be patient if the goals don’t flow immediately.

He added: “He seems to be a confidence player, has excelled when everything has gone his way but at the under-20 tournament when it wasn’t, he basically stopped shooting and focused on link up play. That could be his biggest challenge, maintaining his form in a new league when maybe he has a couple of tough weeks.

“When he left Colombia nobody was sure he would be a success but it is clear he had the potential to do well if he was at the right club and things fell into place.”