The new Morelos: Rangers “myth” has seen his value plummet by £12m
Glasgow Rangers will have some big decisions to make on their squad when the January transfer window officially opens for business later this week.
It will be Danny Rohl’s first window since he arrived at Ibrox, and the German will have to make calls on players to sign, and players to move on from the club.
On the latter point, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss and the club’s owners should learn from mistakes that were made in the past with key players, like Alfredo Morelos.
Why Rangers should have cashed in on Alfredo Morelos
The Colombia international was a brilliant player throughout his time at Ibrox, scoring 124 goals and providing 57 assists in 269 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
Morelos was a proven goalscorer who delivered goals on a consistent basis for the Light Blues, scoring 78 goals in 178 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, including the top-six split.
Such was the quality of his performance level for Rangers, Ligue 1 side Lille offered £16.25m for his services in the summer of 2020, but Rangers rejected that bid because they wanted £20m for him.
Three years later, Morelos moved on from Ibrox as a free agent under Michael Beale, which meant that the Light Blues did not receive a single penny for a player who was once valued at £20m, and who had offers of up to £16.25m in for him.
Rangers may, therefore, look back on that situation with regret as they could have banked a significant sum of money by selling the striker, which could have then been invested back into the squad.
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Looking at the current squad ahead of the January transfer window, there is a Rangers player who should be sold to ensure that it is not a repeat of the Morelos situation.
The Rangers star who should be sold in January
In the summer transfer window earlier this year, it was reported that Rangers valued central midfielder Nicolas Raskin at a staggering fee of £25m, amid interest from Wolves, Aston Villa, Brighton, and Fiorentina.
The Belgium international delivered five goals and 11 assists in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, in the 2024/25 campaign, which led to that £25m valuation by the club.
Rangers did not strike whilst the iron was hot and cash in on the central midfielder amid interest from those European teams, though, as they wanted, understandably, to keep hold of their star midfielder.
Unfortunately, Raskin’s performances in the Scottish Premiership so far this season have regressed in comparison to what he offered on the pitch in the 2024/25 campaign.
Scottish writer Michael McEwan recently described Raskin as “a complete myth” after the 2-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle earlier this month, and said that the Belgian midfielder and Mohamed Diomande were “bullied” by the opposition midfield.
It is hard to disagree with that criticism when you look at the Rangers number 43’s statistics for the season, as his numbers out of possessin have regressed.
|
Raskin (Premiership) |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
33 |
16 |
|
Goals |
4 |
1 |
|
Assists |
10 |
3 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
3.4 |
2.7 |
|
Dribbled past per game |
0.8x |
0.9x |
|
Ground duel success rate |
57% |
51% |
|
Dribble success rate |
68% |
48% |
|
Possession lost per game |
10.3 |
11.8 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Raskin has had less success in his duels, has been dribbled past more frequently, and is making fewer tackles and interceptions per game.
This suggests that the central midfielder has been easier to play against than he was last season, and that has been reflected in his latest valuation by the club.
Turkish outlet Sabah recently claimed that Rangers want a fee of around £13m for the 24-year-old talent, amid interest from Besiktas, and that is a fall from grace from the £25m valuation they had for him in the summer.
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This means that his valuation has plummeted by £12m since the summer window, if this latest report is to be believed, and the Gers should take heed of his plummeting value.
They missed out on a chance to bank more than £16m on Morelos and ended up losing him for nothing, which is why they should consider cashing in on Raskin if any bids of £13m or more arrive next month.
Rangers paid £1.5m to sign the central midfielder from Standard Liege. This means that they will still be making a significant profit, even if it is not the £25m that they once wanted for him.
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Therefore, Rangers should sell Raskin next month, should any signicant offers come to the table, because they risk him becoming the next Morelos at Ibrox if they do not cash in on him at the right time.
