Why Alfredo Morelos would be a smashing signing for West Brom
According to Football Insider (h/t Birmingham Live), West Brom have been credited with an interest in highly sought-after striker Alfredo Morelos, who currently plies his trade with Scottish giants Rangers.
The 24-year-old, who plundered 29 goals in 47 games for Steven Gerrard’s side in all competitions last season, has also been linked with Premier League rivals Leeds United and Aston Villa. (h/t Birmingham Live)
As per the report, West Brom are looking to add at least another centre-forward to their ranks and also have Huddersfield Town’s Karlan Grant, Watford captain Troy Deeney and Chelsea outcast Michy Batshuayi on their shortlist of potential targets.
A fee of £17million has been reported for Morelos, who is also understood to be on the radar of French club Lille, as well as German Bundesliga duo Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen. (Football Insider h/t Birmingham Live)
Profile
Alfredo Morelos started his career with Independiente Medellin in his native Colombia before earning a move to Europe with Finnish top-flight club HJK Helsinki. An astonishing tally of 46 goals in 62 games for HJK paved the way for a switch to Rangers in the summer of 2017.
The 24-year-old established himself as one of the two most devastating strikers in Scottish football alongside Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard over the past couple of years. Morelos also proved his worth in the Europa League last season, scoring 14 goals in 17 appearances (qualifying rounds included) as Gerrard’s brigade made it to the last-16 of the competition.
Morelos made his senior international debut for Colombia back in 2018 and has since accumulated a total of 7 caps for his nation.
Morelos would add some real quality to West Brom’s attack
Lack of goals was one of the major reasons behind West Brom’s relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2017-18 season. The Baggies managed to score only 31 goals in their last top-flight campaign, something that will surely be playing on the mind of the club’s chiefs.
Hal Robson-Kanu and Charlie Austin both shared 10 goals apiece last season as Slaven Bilic’s side finished runners-up to Leeds United in the Championship. However, neither of them was anywhere close to matching the exploits of some of the top goal contributors in the division.
West Brom relied heavily on creative players like Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira to deliver the goods last season, and both have since joined the Baggies on permanent deals.
However, a new centre-forward should be high on the club’s agenda this summer, considering that Robson-Kanu and Austin have an unimpressive track record in the top-flight in recent years. Kenneth Zohore has already been deemed surplus to requirements, thus leaving the door open for a fresh recruit up top.
To put things into perspective, Alfredo Morelos could be the ideal man to sort out West Brom’s striker conundrum if his sparkling record at Rangers is anything to go by.
The Colombian was quite unstoppable in the Europa League last term and so the Baggies have every reason to hope that he makes the step up to a more competitive league like the English top-flight.
Read more
- Why West Brom should not make a move Troy Deeney
- West Brom hold talks to sign £900,000-rated defensive ace Cedric Kipre – A smart move by Bilic?
- Why Sheffield United must continue their pursuit of Oliver Burke
Verdict
Alfredo Morelos has already earned plenty of plaudits as a prolific goalscorer in Scotland as well as in Europe. The Colombian still has his best years ahead of him as a striker, thus making him worth a punt for a promoted Premier League club like West Brom.
Having said that, West Brom could have an absolute gem of a player on their hands if they manage to beat off competition for the South American star this summer.
