Transfer Centre

Graeme Murty: 'Alfredo Morelos had his head turned'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 31 January 2018

Graeme Murty suggests that Rangers must show Alfredo Morelos that remaining at Ibrox was the right choice, having reportedly turned down an offer of £8m for the striker.

Rangers boss Graeme Murty has claimed that striker Alfredo Morelos has been left "confused" by speculation linking him with a move to China.

The 21-year-old remains a Gers player despite strong suggestions that he could be on his way to the Far East, just seven months after arriving at Ibrox.

Murty named Morelos on the bench for Wednesday night's 3-0 Scottish Cup win at Fraserburgh, admitting after the match that the former Colombia Under-20s international has had his head turned by the talk of a lucrative transfer.

"It's a big challenge for us as a club to make him feel as if we have done the right thing by Alfredo and we have," he told Sky Sports News. "We have taken care of him. We just need to make sure the player is calm. He needs to know we can take him to the next level.

"He needs to understand he is our player for the time being, that we can do everything for him to take him to the next level – to help him get that next big move. We can definitely improve him and I don't think agents and media and all this kind of stuff helps him because we've got a confused young man who sees astronomical figures thrown at him.

"And it's nothing to do with the player - he's just confused and sees an opportunity of taking care of his family for a very long time. I'm not sure how much of it was substantially there for him. We love the kid – he's a great young man.

"We want to push on to the next level and Alfredo can help us do that. He sees pound signs in front of him – but there's no one who is 'unsellable'. I'm under no pressure to sell him, though."

Rangers were reportedly offered up to £8m for Morelos, who has 11 goals in 22 Scottish Premiership appearances so far this season.