The experienced English scorer has run the rule over his Ibrox colleague and has backed him for future success
Rangers striker Jermain Defoe has said club-mate Alfredo Morelos has the potential to play at the highest level, claiming that the Colombia international could “score goals for anyone”.
The 23-year-old has scored 29 times this season and has laid on 10 more, with his form in the Europa League particularly catching the eye as he has netted 14 times in 16 matches in the competition.
Disciplinary problems continue to plague the striker, who has been dismissed twice this season and was sent off five times last season – attracting the ire of manager Steven Gerrard – but ex-England hitman Defoe believes that the quality Morelos possesses should ensure that he eventually becomes a starring performing at the highest level.
“He’s really impressed me – he’s a natural goalscorer – I think people need to understand that he is still young,” he told Sky Sports.
“He has made mistakes, but he is still young, he is still learning. He has impressed me. I feel like this season, particularly the first part of the season, he improved a lot. His link up play, he was keeping the ball for us, scoring goals and just his all-round game had improved so much.
“Even away from that, he is funny in the changing room, as you can imagine, he’s a character. He is a nice guy.
“It is difficult for him because he is Colombian, his family are not here. He is here with his wife and sometimes she goes back and sees her family so sometimes he is just here on his own and it is really difficult for Alfredo and obviously we try and help him because he is a young lad, but he is a top, top player, a natural goalscorer.”
According to Defoe, who has scored 163 times in the Premier League for the likes of Tottenham, West Ham and Sunderland, Morelos’ attitude sets him apart from other forwards and that could see him thrive in the correct circumstances.
“I feel like he would need to be in the right team – a team that creates chances because I believe that if he gets chances at any level I believe he can score,” he said when discussing his colleague’s future prospects. “He has got that arrogance that he believes that he can score in every game.”
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