Pedro Caixinha has opened up on his decision to bring Alfredo Morelos to Rangers – but has remained coy over a possible Ibrox reunion with the striker at Santos.
Morelos left the Brazilian club to return to his native Colombia in a loan deal with Atletico Nacional back in March, helping them to a league and cup double by scoring 11 times in 28 matches. The 28-year-old has been given an extended holiday after his loan spell with Nacional expired, with the Colombian side reportedly keen on signing him on a permanent basis.
Reports in Brazil claim that Santos would be willing to sell the ex Gers frontman due to his ‘very high salary’, with Morelos still under contract until December 2026. Caixinha brought Morelos to Rangers in the summer of 2017 in a £1million switch from HJK but only worked with the player for four months when his disastrous spell in the dugout at Ibrox came to an end in the following October.
The Portuguese coach has revealed just how much work they had to do with Morelos to get his fitness up to speed but refused to comment on whether the forward has a future with Santos when he reports back to training. Caxinha – who was named as Santos’ new head coach last month less than three weeks after getting the sack with domestic rivals Red Bull Bragantino – said to Globo Esporte (via Gol): “I arrived, he was not there and the information is there. I met Alfredo Morelos (at Rangers). We bought him, he arrived overweight.
“He had incredible physical strength. He had to work hard to regain his weight. His nickname was Bufalo and Chuta-Chuta and the rest of what he did at Rangers is history. Then I found him as an opponent when I was at Red Bull Bragantino against Santos.”
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