Rangers may be ‘backing down’ in their pursuit of Luis Palma after the Ibrox outfit reportedly submitted a bid which fell well short of Aris’ £5 million asking price.
That is according to Alexis Savvopoulos; a Greek football reporter with a specialised interest in Aris Thessaloniki. In short, he is a source worth listening too as reports continue to link Rangers with a move for one of the Super League’s brightest attacking talents.
Luis Palma, after scoring 13 goals and setting up eight more during an excellent campaign at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, has caught the eye of around a dozen clubs in a multitude of different countries; from Scotland to America, France to Belgium.
Aris’ sporting director appeared to confirm Rangers’ interest a few weeks ago, while Palma himself admitted that he was open to a move to the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers’ hopes of replacing the out-of-contract Ryan Kent with another jet-heeled, right-footed left-winger have suffered a blow, however, with Aris refusing to accept a penny less than £5 million for the 23-year-old Honduras international.
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Greek publication Athlos News claim that Rangers recently submitted an opening offer. But their £2.5 million proposal will need to be doubled in order to twist Aris’ arm.
“We expected that there would be some developments, with Rangers showing that they are backing down or that they are not willing to pay the 5 million euros wanted by Aris,” Savvopoulos tells Bwin Sports.
“One of the teams interested – Copenhagen – have shown that they are very hot and are expected to submit an offer. But even this offer will not be at the levels Aris have set.
“And now there are two possibilities; either the player stays, he plays in Europe with the prospect of raising his price, or he prematurely accepts an offer from abroad.”
Palma reportedly wants to skip the upcoming Gold Cup with Honduras, fearing that an ill-timed injury could scupper his hopes of a dream move to a more high-profile competition.
“The player shows that he is waiting for something,” Savvopouloos adds. “Since he is not going to play with Honduras at the Gold Cup.”
Rangers confirmed the arrival of Chelsea defender Dujon Sterling on Tuesday, joining Kieran Dowell at Ibrox. As negotiations for Palma stumble on, Mick Beale’s side appear closer down the line in pursuit of Jack Butland and Jose Cifuentes.