A teammate of Joe Aribo at Glasgow Rangers of Scotland, Alfredo Morelos has been cited as the striker to finally replace Super Eagles’ youngster, Victor Osimhen at Lille Metropole of France, megasportsarena.com reports.
With Osimhen eventually set to join SSC Napoli in a protracted deal this week, Lille embarked on a frenetic mission to replace him immediately and that search has now been narrowed down to Aribo’s pal at Ibrox.
The search for Osimhen’s replacement appeared to end when Morelos agreed personal terms with Lille and the two clubs are now negotiating a fee for the Colombian international, who has established himself as a key player for Rangers since joining from HJK Helsinki of Finland in 2017, following which he has scored 44 goals in 91 appearances for Aribo’s club.
This comes barely 24 hours after Aribo made it two goals in as many games for The Gers, few hours before which the coach, Steven Gerrard spoke of his desire to strengthen his options in attack ahead of next season; but said he was pleased with the club’s midfield in their 2-0 win over Coventry City in Saturday’s friendly and singled out the Super Eagles’ dazzler for praise.
Much to Gerrard’s delight, the 24-year-old Aribo netted the opening goal at Ibrox in the 50th minute before Conor Goldman doubled the lead 17 minutes later, making it the second game in a row that the Super Eagles’ rookie scored, after earlier netting in a 4-0 win over Motherwell.
The game also helped Rangers keep a 100% mark in their pre-season games, keeping clean sheets in all, leaving Gerrard excited ahead of the Scottish Premiership 2020-21 season, which will commence this Saturday, August 1; with his side first travelling to face Aberdeen.
Gerrard told Rangers TV: “The midfield we are okay, we’re looking strong. Joe Aribo jumped out of the pack and being really, really strong in his performances and we’re creating and scoring goals in the final third.
“Well, I think a lot of individuals look ready, both keepers have been fantastic, I think from a defensive unit point of view we’re keeping clean sheets. I think Connor’s showing real good leadership skills and really driving that backline to keep clean sheets
“I think we are looking strong in the full-back areas if you look at over the course of the pre-season. I thought they could have been a little bit better in terms of how they were playing when the ball came to them.
“The only thing I’m slightly concerned about is obviously our options in the number nine position and it’s something we’re trying to address and it’s the reason why I had to be trying to be wise with Alfredo [Morelos] and get him off the pitch as soon as I could. We haven’t got enough options in the number nine area at the moment.
“We’re actively looking to strengthen in that area. We have to be patient and try and get the right one in. We can’t just make a decision for the short term. We have to look at the big picture and the long term. We’ll only go in for the right name who can help us over 60 games rather than someone who can help us for the next few weeks.”
