Rangers manager Mick Beale has spoken of his admiration for Jose Cifuentes bit insists a move to Ibrox is not yet ‘close’ for the Major League Soccer and Los Angeles FC star.
Whisper it, but Rangers’ midfield could look pretty imperious next season.
Nicolas Raskin running himself into the ground, laying the foundations for Todd Cantwell or Kieran Dowell to do their thing further forward. And, alongside the Belgian, Jose Cifuentes strutting his stuff, providing a mobile link between defence and attack while chipping in with his fair share of goals.
Cifuentes scored eight times and set up nine more for LAFC in the 2022 MLS season. He also ranked near the top for tackles and yellow cards too. There is a reason why LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo describes the all-action Ecuador international as an ‘incredibly complete’ central midfield player.
According to the Scottish Sun, Rangers are closing in on a deal to bring the one-time Celtic target – who made no secret of his interest in a move to Glasgow back in 2019 – to the UK at last.
Rangers are keen on Jose Cifuentes
Cifuentes will be a free-agent in December. So, while his price-tag has not yet been disclosed, Rangers are expected to get a pretty substantial discount on a player who was reportedly valued at around £15 million not so long ago.
“Jose Cifuentes (is) a very good player,” Beale said at his Friday press conference; provided by the Four Lads Had a Dream Twitter account.
Steven Gerrard’s former assistant, however, insists that a deal for the reported Benfica and Brighton target is far from imminent.
“It’s not as close as it may seem.”
Described as something akin to a mix of Paul Pogba and Moises Caicedo; Cifuentes has done little to quell the speculation either. He appears to have ‘liked’ a number of Tweets from Rangers fans expressing their excitement about his potential arrival at Ibrox.
And while Beale claims to not be aware of Cifuentes’ social media activity, it seems he is unlikely to face many problems convincing a player who featured at the Qatar World Cup to sign on the dotted line.
Rangers are also closing in on Dowell and Chelsea defender Dujon Sterling. A new goalkeeper is also a priority, though Jack Butland may prove too expensive.
