Johansson: This is how I was blown away by latest Rangers new recruit
By Matt Farr
Rangers assistant manager Jonatan Johansson admits he was first drawn to the talents of new recruit Alfredo Morelos through his clear goalscoring ability.
The Scottish club announced on their official club website and Twitter account on Monday that they had signed the 20-year-old striker on a three-year-deal from HJK Helsinki.
Morelos had only played for the Finnish club for one full season, but was in red hot form in front of goal, scoring an impressive 20 goals from 25 appearances in all competitions.
But just as manager Pedro Caixinha was looking to overhaul his first-team squad at Ibrox this summer, Johansson was responsible for kicking-off their pursuit of the Colombia Under-20 international.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Johansson revealed how the young goalscorer had blown him away, and said: “He’s a very young, exciting player. He can shoot from distance with both feet as well.
“He’s deceivingly quick, he’s got big legs, big strong thighs, and his first ten to fifteen yards are very explosive. He’s physical in the box and he can hold the ball up and turn people, so I think he’s an exciting young prospect.
“His obvious big strength is his goalscoring. I felt he ticked all the boxes in that way and then you start looking more in-depth at what he does.”
The club did not confirm the exact transfer spent to bring Morelos to Ibrox, but the Scottish Sun had earlier claimed that an agreement had been reached between the two clubs over a £1million fee.
Morelos becomes Rangers’ and Caixinha’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window, following the additions of Bruno Alves, Ryan Jack, Fabio Cardoso, Dalcio and Daniel Candeias.
Caixinha has moved to complete his transfer business for the start of pre-season, with Rangers set to begin their Europa League qualification campaign next week.
They face Luxembourg-based outfit Progres Niederkorn at Ibrox on Thursday in the first-leg of their first-qualifying round clash.
In other Rangers news, a double deal for this international duo is imminent as they have already reportedly been registered by the club.
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