According to a recent exclusive interview by Football Insider, former Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton has backed Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos to ‘fit in’ at Villa Park. Hutton is claimed to believe that Dean Smith has been playing attractive attacking football this season and that the Colombian international striker would flourish upon a move to the Midlands.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Villa right-back said, “Yeah, definitely. I think Villa throughout the season have definitely been open at times, tried to play on the front foot and play a good brand of football. Sometimes it’s hurt them at the back where they’ve lost goals defensively but I think going forward they’ll definitely make more opportunities. I do believe he (Morelos) could go down south and score a lot of goals, but it’s just about picking the right team for him, where he’s going to fit in and get chances. I do think at Villa he would have that.”
What Are The Concerns With Morelos Joining Aston Villa?
For starters, the fact that Dean Smith already has two top-quality centre-forwards to choose from could become an issue for Morelos in the short-term. An immediate starting place would probably be one of the attacker’s priorities, given that it’s something he’s been experiencing at Rangers for a while now. While it could be argued that both Mbwana Samatta and Wesley are different kinds of strikers to Morelos, considering the amount of money they paid for the duo, it doesn’t seem likely that any of them will be dropped indefinitely.
Also, one of Aston Villa’s biggest issues throughout the campaign has been creativity from the midfield area. Most of the chances that Dean Smith’s team created last season were thanks to the brilliant efforts of English attacker Jack Grealish.
The Villa academy graduate has been linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer, as has been suggested by the Evening Standard, which means that the Villans are likely to start the upcoming Premier League campaign without the Englishman in the squad. Losing him would be an absolutely gutting blow to the very core this already shaky Aston Villa team.
Why Morelos Must Stay On At Rangers Beyond The Summer?
The fact that this Rangers side are playing European football alone should be enough to convince an aspiring international like Morelos to stay at the Ibrox at least for one more season. While it must be conceded that Steven Gerrard’s ultimate project is still under construction, the fact remains that Morelos is one of the most important pieces of that puzzle. Having joined the Glasgow based club in 2017, the Colombian has almost made 100 appearances in the blue shirt as well.
The striker is undoubtedly one of the most exciting attacking talents in Britain at the moment in time, and his exploits in front of goal have been no small matter either. While his 12 goals from 26 league appearances might look underwhelming, Morelos got 14 goals in 16 fixtures in the Gers’ long and tedious Europa League campaign, which included the qualifying stages as well. The Colombian has the quality and composure required to become one of the best in the continent, but a switch to a club like Aston Villa wouldn’t look like too much of an upgrade on his resumé.
