Rangers may be better off cashing in on Alfredo Morelos, admits Jonatan Johansson

Jonatan Johansson says everyone could be a winner should Rangers decide to cash in on Alfredo Morelos.

Despite the fact football is currently in lockdown on both sides of the border, the Colombian – who has been valued at £20-million down south – has been linked with a string of English Premier League clubs.

West Ham, Leicester City, Everton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are all credited with an interest in the 23-year-old.

Johansson, the former Rangers striker and coach, has taken a near-forensic interest in the Colombian’s career since the Light Blues brought him over to Ibrox three years ago.

What he has seen has convinced him both that Morelos could be a success in England and that the Light Blues, who have had their problems with the player, might be better off without him.

“Almost every club in the world has to be realistic, and realise that when your top players have a value, there can be a time to sell them,” said Johansson.

“Whenever that is, that’s the question. You have to get the bid in, so it is not that simple.

“The timing and the price has to be right for everyone involved.

“There will be a price and a time for Alfredo that’s right, but whether it’s now, who knows?

“If they can get a good price for him, and they can improve everything about the football club with that money, everyone will be a winner.

“Listen, I’m sure Alfredo would score goals in the English Premier League. It has to be the right fit with the right manager, with the right team around him.

“There are a lot of things that will determine how successful he’ll be.

“And depending on the price, that will dictate which clubs are in the market for him.

“The one thing I know is that if you give him the chance, he’ll be able to put them away – even at that level.

“Alfredo really enjoys playing for Rangers. That’s a major factor in this. He enjoys working with the manager and in front of the fans.

“At the same time, everyone wants to play at the top level, and young players like him should be hungry.

“You want that. You want them to move forward and play in the best leagues.

“I am sure Rangers would give him their blessing to do that.

“But there’s so much uncertainty at the moment, so it’s difficult to predict how it’s going to look.”

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Former Ibrox chairman Dave King claimed last year that even a £40m bid would not be enough to prise Morelos away from Ibrox.

That statement was made ahead of the January transfer window. Their will was not tested and since then there has been another serious disciplinary incident.

Given compassionate leave to travel back to Colombia in the run-up to a crucial Scottish Cup tie against Hearts, the striker arrived back 24 hours after the deadline club had set him.

Steven Gerrard made an example of him by dropping him, and Rangers crashed out of the competition.

Johansson, though, is sure it was a blip rather than a marker of potential future trouble.

“Whatever happened with Alfredo around the Hearts game, if a line’s been crossed, the player has to be disciplined – 100%.

“If the manager felt that was the right time, he’s right to do it.

“But it is also important that after it happens, you draw a line under it and move forward.

“Looking from the outside, I think that’s what they did.

“I’m sure Alfredo will be able to do that and get his head right for Rangers again, absolutely.

“He is still a young player. That’s no excuse, but sometimes when you play in a physical way and there’s headlines around you, there’s focus on you.

“He’s been maturing in his game, in terms of his tactical understanding getting better.

“I see Alfredo has done a lot of good work during the lockdown at home in Colombia. He’s shown a big heart there.

“So I’m sure he’ll come back.”

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Coaches find a plan to crack the lockdown

Jonatan Johansson is one of a number of coaches who have used technology to complete the SFA’s Pro Licence course remotely during lockdown.

Along with the likes of Russell Martin, Maurice Ross, Peter Lovenkrands and Stuart Kettlewell, the former Rangers striker should have been put through his paces in Nyon in Switzerland.

However, with foreign travel off the table due to coronavirus, all have been logging in to their laptops to receive their tuition on screen.

Greig Paterson, the head of coach education at the SFA, said: “Some things will have to be put on hold, but I don’t want anyone to lose out or see their time go to waste, even though football is shut down.

“Obviously, the trip to Nyon couldn’t happen, so instead we used the dates to continue to deliver to our coaches.

“People like Pat Bonner and Dan Ashworth – the former director of elite development at the FA – came in as guest lecturers.

“We managed to deliver an entire week – and a busy one at that – of coach education to our top-level course.

“This was a huge achievement, considering the limitations we’re facing.

“As tough as it is just now, there is a lot of inspirational stuff going on.

“A great example is Russell Martin.

“As manager of MK Dons, but also as someone currently on the UEFA Pro Licence with us, he is learning in theory through the course, as well as being a manager in adverse times like this.

“He explained to us on a recent podcast that the mind-set of his players is more important than anything right now.

“He’s putting a lot of energy into that side of it, whilst also giving his time to provide advice to those on our courses.

“I also spoke to the head of academy coaching at Aberdeen, Gavin Levey, last week, and he was incredibly optimistic about the technical development of their players at this time, which may sound a bit surprising.

“He’s seeing a lot of progression from young players merely from practising in their back garden.

“He told me that they are now trying to improve daily by setting themselves targets.”