MIKA LEHKOSUO plucked an unknown striker out of Colombia and watched him make a name for himself in Finland. After being reunited with Alfredo Morelos in Scotland, he is confident his former forward has the world at his feet.

Morelos spent just 18 months in Helsinki after moving from Independiente Medellin in his homeland but that short stay was enough to convince Lehkosuo, and Rangers, of his talent. The rest, they say, is history.

The Finn brought his HJK side to Ibrox on Sunday as a match that was agreed as part of the deal that took Morelos to Rangers was played. Morelos may not have scored against his former club, but he still had a hand in the win for Steven Gerrard’s side as he set Scott Arfield free to score the first goal in a 3-2 victory.

“Alfredo came to our hotel to see us and it was good to see him,” Lehkosuo said. “We have kept in touch since he left and I have been following his career since he moved to Scotland.

“I always thought he would do well here because he is a really good player but you can never be sure how things are going to turn out for anyone when they move on.

“Alfredo is ready for bigger things if he wants them. It depends on what he wants to do, but he is ready. He could play in England but it is up to him what he wants to do.

“He has improved a lot in the last two years since he moved to Rangers. He has learned to mature because when he was young when he was with us.

“He is a smart kid and he has really grown up. Sometimes he can get frustrated but that is the way he is.

“We didn’t have many issues with him as a player, he was just a young boy when he came to Finland. He was only 19 and it was the first time he had played in Europe.

“He had to learn how to be a professional football and learn that to be a top footballer you had to be a player 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The £1million that Rangers shelled out to bring Morelos to Ibrox last season has already been repaid as the 22-year-old has become a key player for the Light Blues.

He will command a fee significantly higher when he eventually moves on and takes the next step in a career that has seen him rise and rise at an impressive rate.

Boss Gerrard is a huge admirer of Morelos’ talents and his former mentor has no doubts he is capable of playing at the top of the game in years to come.

Lehkosuo said: “I always felt the British game was perfect for him because he is just so strong and aggressive.

“He had everything you needed to be a top player he and he has shown that. He has fantastic movement and when he faces up to opponents he can take them on in a number of different ways. He can shoot from close in or from distance so he is always a threat to teams.

“It isn’t easy to push him off the ball when he is on it and defenders struggle to get it off of him because he is so powerful. He has everything you want from a top striker, now it is up to him to continue that.

“He can go to the very top of the game if he wants to. Sometimes he plays on the edge but that is what makes him.

“He is playing in a more competitive league now than he was in Finland and you can see how much he has improved in the better standard.

“He didn’t have many red or yellow cards in Finland but he used to get frustrated and lose his focus, but he was such a good player for us.”