Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement knows that every result could have an impact on his long-term future at the club and his relationship with the supporters.
The Light Blues came from behind to beat Motherwell in the semi-finals of the League Cup on Sunday, having gone into the half-time break at 1-0 down.
A defeat, after losing to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen in two of their last three outings in the Scottish Premiership, could have left the Belgian boss on very thin ice.
In fact, Football Insider reported in the build-up to the game that the former Monaco boss is just one game away from being given the boot by the board, which suggested that a loss to Motherwell would have spelled out the end of his career in Scotland.
The outlet claimed that there would not have been any way back for him if he had lost that game and that the board have been surprised by how poor the start to the campaign has been, with the Gers already nine points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen in the title race.
Clement’s attempts to turn things around would be far more successful if he had a striker with the quality of Alfredo Morelos, who left the club a few months before the manager’s arrival.
Alfredo Morelos' goalscoring record for Rangers
The Colombian marksman moved on from Ibrox at the end of the 2022/23 campaign on a free transfer after Michael Beale decided to part ways with the attacker.
Morelos left the club with a record of 124 goals and 57 assists in 269 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, which speaks to his consistent quality in the final third throughout his time in Glasgow.
The 28-year-old star reached double figures for goals in the Scottish Premiership in all six of his seasons with the Light Blues, and his record in European competitions was particularly impressive.
Europa League qualifiers
23
13
7
Europa League
33
15
10
Champions League qualifiers
2
1
0
Champions League
5
0
0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Morelos was prolific in the Europa League for the Gers and the same cannot be said of Clement’s current number nine – Cyriel Dessers.
Last season, the Nigeria international produced one goal in seven appearances in the Europa League for Rangers, whilst losing 74% of his duels against opposition players.
So far this term, Dessers has missed three ‘big chances’ and failed to score a single goal in three outings in the competition, whilst losing 74% of his physical battles again.
He is far, certainly on the European stage, from being Rangers’ new Morelos but the club did once have a player in their academy who appeared to have the potential to be just that in Juan Alegria.
Juan Alegria's Rangers career
The Colombian joined the Scottish giants as a teenager from Finnish side FC Honka in the summer of 2021, which was bizarrely similar to when fellow Colombian striker Morelos joined from Finnish outfit Helsinki in the summer of 2017.
Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton described the 18-year-old as a “big talent”, as he had already scored three goals at senior level for Honka, and his start to life at Ibrox illustrated that.
Alegria made an instant impact for the B team. He produced three goals in two Trust Trophy outings and had scored six Lowland League goals by February 2022.
Such was his impressive form for the academy, Football FanCast published an article in the summer of 2022 that suggested that the Gers had their next Morelos on their hands.
Alegria then spent time on loan at Partick Thistle, failing to score in 12 appearances, before a solid return of six goals and three assists in 19 outings on loan with Falkirk in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
His form for Falkirk, though, was not enough to convince Michael Beale that he had a future at Ibrox and the manager decided to move him on, with a return to Honka, which was followed by a swift move to Jaguares FC a few months later.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
This suggests that his performances in the lower leagues in Scotland were not good enough to suggest that he could live up to his potential as Morelos’ successor, but his form in 2024 shows that there could still be a successful career for him in football.
Where Juan Alegria is now
After just two goals in 31 league games for Honka and Jaguares combined after his exit from the Light Blues, Alegria made the move to Guangzhou FC in China in February of this year on a free transfer.
His team are currently third in the second division, five points off the promotion places, and his goals have been key to their promotion push throughout 2024.
Although it is in the second tier in China, Alegria has finally found his feet as a regular goalscorer at first-team level and could use his current form to secure a move back to Europe or to another top-flight league in the world.
The fact that he is playing at a low level in China suggests that Rangers were right to move on from him at the time, as he is yet to prove them wrong by scoring goals on a regular basis in a top league.
Appearances
26
Sofascore rating
7.42
Goals
18
Conversion rate
23%
Assists
3
As you can see in the table above, however, Alegria has been in terrific form this year with a return of 21 goal involvements in 26 league
matches.
At the age of 22, the Colombian marksman still has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve and may have an ambition to return to Europe at some point in his career, possibly with the motivation of proving Rangers wrong with their decision to let him go.
Worse than Jefte: Clement must drop Rangers man who was "far too slow"
The Rangers defender was taken off before the Light Blues scored the winning goal.
ByDan EmeryNov 4, 2024