West Brom were left with Rangers FC transfer relief - Steven Gerrard loved him | OneFootball

West Brom were keen on Alfredo Morelos during his time at Rangers, but a move didn't happen.

West Brom are in a difficult position right now, with staying in the Championship the only objective for all connected to the club.

It’s no secret that Albion had problems financially under former owner Guochuan Lai, and they’re still paying the price for his mismanagement.

The Chinese businessman bought the club when they were established in the Premier League, but, under his guidance, they surrendered that top flight status.

There were occasional positives under his stewardship, including winning promotion from the Championship in 2020, but boss Slaven Bilic will feel he wasn’t properly backed in the summer window that followed.

West Brom failed to back Slaven Bilic in the summer of 2020

Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana both moved to West Brom on permanent deals after starring in the Baggies’ promotion, and they looked like shrewd signings. However, Bilic didn’t get much else, with Karlan Grant the only other significant outlay at the time.

So, a difficult campaign was always on the cards, and Bilic would lose his job months into the season, with Sam Allardyce succeeding the Croatian.

The former England chief couldn’t inspire a turnaround, and Albion went down with a whimper, and it remains their last season in the Premier League as of now.

West Brom dodged a bullet with failed Alfredo Morelos move

It’s natural to wonder how Albion would have done if Bilic had received more support in the market, and it’s not like they weren’t linked with a host of players following their promotion.

One name thought to be on their radar was Alfredo Morelos, and it was easy to see why.

The Colombian was making a name for himself north of the border with Rangers, where he had been prolific in front of goal.

As well as his excellent return, Morelos was always a handful for defenders due to his physicality, and he had become the focal point for Steven Gerrard’s side as they tried to end Celtic’s dominance in Glasgow.

Morelos was also showing his quality in Europe, and at that stage it felt like a move was inevitable, and the Premier League would’ve appealed.

Yet, there was a side to Morelos that meant signing him would’ve been a major risk. He had been sent off six times in the Scottish Premiership in the two seasons leading up to Albion’s reported interest.

His lack of discipline was an issue off the pitch too, with Gerrard revealing on The Overlap that Morelos was ‘tough to manage’, and that he had to ‘bite his tongue’ as well ‘turning a blind eye’ to what the striker got up to.

Despite all of that, Gerrard and all Rangers fans will have fond memories of Morelos, as he remained at Ibrox beyond that summer, and he played an integral role as they did finally win the title.

Even after Gerrard had departed, Morelos continued to flourish, scoring goals as Rangers won the Scottish Cup, and he was pivotal as they reached the Europa League final in 2022, where they were beaten by Frankfurt.

Whilst his talent, at that stage of his career, may not have been in doubt, that doesn’t mean a move to West Brom would’ve worked.

In fact, from the outside, the prospect of Morelos moving to a team that were battling to stay in the Premier League wouldn’t make sense.

It’s easy to imagine that he would’ve become increasingly frustrated playing in a team that couldn’t dominate the ball like Rangers generally do domestically.

Plus, unlike at Ibrox, where Morelos had built up credit in the bank, his behaviour wouldn’t have been tolerated at Albion by players, staff and management, as they were fighting for their lives.

Some will immediately draw comparisons to Saido Berahino, who caused issues in the dressing room at West Brom, which became a distraction to the club at times.

So, it probably suited all parties that Morelos didn’t join West Brom for what would’ve been a hefty fee and substantial wages, as it could’ve left them with another problem to deal with during the Lai era.