Alfredo Morelos will tonight attempt to kickstart his career with Santos after being given the all-clear to start their new season in the Brazilian second tier.
The former Rangers striker is on the brink of agreeing a new deal at the club after reducing his £40,000-a-week salary by half following Pele's old club's disastrous relegation in Serie B for the first time in their 111-year history.
Morelos has been back in training and will play for Santos when they face Botafogo SP in the Campeonato Paulista, the regional league of Sao Paulo. The league is the traditional tournament played before the start of the main leagues in Brazil.
The Colombian striker has yet to score a single goal for Santos since signing in September, although his appearances were restricted to just one start in 76 minutes of action because of a succession of injury setbacks.
Santos originally agreed to allow Morelos to leave for nothing if he could find a new club and there were even suggestions the three-year contract would be ripped up, although there was little interest in the 27-year-old.
But after talks between the club, player and agent Martin Camono, Morelos has reportedly agreed to half his salary, although an official announcement has yet to be made.
And Morelos, who left Rangers in the summer after 178 league appearances, scoring 78 league goals and 124 in all competitions during a six-year spell, will begin his road to redemption tonight at the Estadio Santa Cruz in Sao Paulo.
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Meanwhile, the collective accolades mean more than the individual plaudits for Cyriel Dessers. The competition for places at Ibrox is, therefore, essential rather than just welcomed.
Dessers put pen to paper on a move to Rangers in the summer fully cognisant of the pressures that would be on his shoulders and the return that was expected. At times, he has carried more than his fair share of the scoring burden this season.
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