Goals galore as Rangers duo Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos find a common language

It’s not competition but camaraderie that is being ramped up by the goal-trading between Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe at Rangers. And the veteran English striker reveals that the Colombian’s communication skills are also benefiting from their almost symbiotic scoring exploits.

Jermain Defoe has so far shared a 20-goal total with fellow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos this season. Picture: PA.

The 4-0 weekend win away to St Johnstone by Steven Gerrard’s men was the third time the pair had baton-passed in battering opponents; Morelos bagging the opener before he gave way to Defoe, pictured, to bang in a brace despite only arriving on the pitch in the 79 minute. It follows on from the 6-0 rout of St Joseph’s in the clubs’ July Europa League qualifier in which Morelos claimed a hat-trick ahead of Defoe chipping in with a double after coming on to replace him. In the 6-1 home drubbing of Hibernian, meanwhile, the situation was reversed with starter Defoe collecting a hat-trick before his fellow striker scored twice as his replacement.

The 20-goal haul of the duo this season owes much to such dove-tailing. As does their patent support of one another. The other day Morelos was pictured on the bench delighting in his senior partner getting on the scoresheet. A week past Saturday, Morelos sprinted towards the bench to hug Defoe when putting Rangers ahead in their 3-1 victory at home to Livingston. That act encouraged Defoe to believe that his 23-year-old frontline counterpart might not be as restricted to speaking only his native Spanish tongue as would appear from the media-shunning forward’s propensity to create such an 
impression.

“I said to him [before Livingston] ‘when you score, make sure you run over to me’. In English, just like that. And then he scored and he celebrated and he turned round and ran over so I thought ‘oh’,” said the on-loan Bournemouth striker of his surprise Morelos could easily grasp what he had imparted to him. “He has been brilliant. It is difficult with the English, but his English is improving. It was nice when he ran over. He is a fantastic player and when he plays he is going to score goals, like he showed last season. He will do the same this year.

“He is so strong and when defenders get that tight to him that is when he is at his best, when he can roll people. His link-up on Sunday was good, he kept the ball every time. You need that, because you have got Connor [Goldson] screaming at you.”

Morelos certainly appears on course to better last season’s 29-goal tally considering he is already on 12 for this campaign. The able support he is receiving is reflected in Defoe having succeeded in chipping in with eight goals as, essentially, the Colombian’s back-up.

In that respect, Defoe might have been expected to be satisfied with two goals in two minutes at the conclusion of the St Johnstone victory he featured in for only a quarter of an hour. However, he revealed a conversation that demonstrated his desire for a hat-trick and illustrates how his hunger to hit the net remains undimmed even in his 21st season in senior football. A time during which he achieved a one-in-two goal ratio at West Ham United, Portsmouth, Toronto, Sunderland, as well as two spells at White Hart Lane.

“I said to the referee [Andrew Dallas] ‘how long is left?’ and he said ’90 seconds’ so I said ‘hold that whistle’,” Defoe stated. “I had a volley that went over the stand and that was a chance, it probably came too early for me. It is always nice to score goals, it is something that gives you that buzz.”