After two days of pre-season training at Murray Park the big whisper is ‘Where’s Alfredo?’
Three months after the season was halted Steven Gerrard has his stars back in action, kitted out in their fetching Castore gear but one big name is missing.
During Lockdown the Scottish media kept tabs on Morelos, publishing images of his incredible charity work in Colombia and reporting the birth of his daughter.
His possible return to Scotland hasn’t been mentioned, Castore Sport haven’t had the publicity of seeing Gerrard’s star player kitted out and going through his paces ahead of the new season.
For some reason the non-appearance of Morelos seems out of bounds. Over the last week the Daily Record, Herald and Glasgow Live have all pressed the DELETE button on stories that didn’t paint Ibrox in a flattering light.
If Morelos is in dispute with his club it presents them with a massive issue. In the boardroom he appears to be the only saleable asset, for Gerrard he is the most likely source of goals but someone who has already pushed his luck this year.
After the winter break, following his second red card in a month, Morelos turned up late in Dubai for the training camp that many have blamed for the collapse in the Ibrox title challenge.
In February the striker was booked in the home leg of the Europa League tie against Braga, rather than go along and provide moral support to his team-mates in Portugal Morelos was given permission to visit his family in Colombia.
When he again returned late Gerrard was forced into action, his top scorer was disciplined, left out of the Scottish Cup tie away to Hearts as the door closed on another trophy.
Once again the Ibrox boss has the Morelos situation to deal with. Does he tell players that took pay deferrals that Alfredo is a special case or does he upset the boardroom by calling out his side’s only asset at a time when a £15m transfer fee, imaginatively staged, would be exceptionally welcomed as the invoices and wage deferrals pile up.