Alfredo Morelos: Rangers striker urged to 'address speculation' by Steven Gerrard
- Published
Alfredo Morelos was on the bench against Progres Niederkorn
Steven Gerrard says Alfredo Morelos should address questions about his future but sees no drop off in the striker's commitment to Rangers.
The manager this week insisted there had been no bids for the Colombian despite reports of a £30m interest from Chinese club Hebei Fortune.
Morelos was a substitute against Progres Niederkorn on Thursday.
"I think he should address the speculation, yes, but he trains really hard," Gerrard said.
"He has come in here for a very cheap fee and has scored an unbelievable amount of goals, so I don't think he owes anybody anything."
Gerrard said last week that he hoped to put the 23-year-old, whose English is limited, in front of the Scottish media for the first time since he made his move to Glasgow in the summer of 2017 from HJK Helskinki.
Morelos was not present as Gerrard held his pre-match media conference ahead of Sunday's Scottish Premiership curtain-raiser away to Kilmarnock after the 0-0 draw in Luxembourg ensured that Rangers progress to a Europa League third qualifying round meeting with Midtjylland of Denmark.
Asked if the striker was as committed to the club as last season, when he finished top scorer, the manager replied: "If I saw any signs that he wasn't then he wouldn't be involved on a match-day.
"He got an unfortunate niggle at the start of pre-season, which set him back a week or two, but I think he's ready to fire.
"He came on last night and almost got us a couple of goals. He had that threat about him."
Meanwhile, Gerrard revealed that Glenn Middleton, the 19-year-old winger signed from Norwich City in 2018, is close to going on loan to NAC Breda in the Dutch top flight.
"Fair play to him going for such a challenge," he said. "That will be good for his development, playing for a team challenging in front of passionate fans."
Full-back Jon Flanagan will continue his comeback from injury for Rangers' development squad against their Chelsea counterparts on Friday evening along with Filip Helander, the centre-half signed from Bologna.
Winger Jamie Murphy has picked up a knock as he continues his comeback from a season-long injury, while out-of-favour midfielder Graham Dorrans has reported a calf injury.