Rangers are ‘closing in’ on Jose Cifuentes and look set to beat Ligue 1 clubs to the Los Angeles FC midfielder after holding talks with the player’s camp.
That is according to the Scottish Sun.
If supporters were a little underwhelmed by the potential addition of free-agent Kieran Dowell after a difficult season at Norwich City, then Jose Cifuentes is the sort of marquee, statement signing that could conceivably be labelled a genuine statement of intent.
“Cifu is an incredibly talented player,” explains LAFC’s head coach Steve Cherundolo. “The sky is the limit for him. He is a complete player.”
Will Rangers sign one-time Celtic target Jose Cifuentes?
Cifuentes’ contract at the MLS outfit runs out in December. As such, LAFC are ‘inviting’ offers now, in the hope of cashing in on the Ecuador international before he departs for absolutely nothing.
Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse are interested. But the Scottish Sun believe that Rangers are currently at the front of the queue after holding talks with the 24-year-old’s representatives.
Cifuentes, who featured for Ecuador at the Qatar World Cup, will arrive at Ibrox having scored eight goals and setting up nine more during the 2022 MLS campaign.
Furthermore, only two players in the LAFC squad averaged more successful tackles per game than Cifuentes last term, per WhoScored. A tally of nine yellow cards, meanwhile, highlights his competitive streak; the aggression and an intensity required to thrive on Scottish soil.
There’s a reason Cherundolo describes him as the ‘complete player’. A jack-of-all-trades midfielder who could yet become a master of most.
‘A wish’
The one-time Celtic target admitted back in 2019 that he would be open to a move to Scotland.
“It would be very interesting to play there, in the Scottish League,” Cifuentes told Football Scotland at thet time, then-Hoops boss Neil Lennon admitting that a little-known youngster had ‘come up’ on the radar.
“(Celtic) are a good team. And I want to be the protagonist in a lot of competitions.”
Cifuentes could soon be strutting his stuff on the other side of Glasgow instead.
“Yes, (playing in Europe) is a wish,” Cifuentes tells Zona Deportiva in April. “I do not see it as much as an ambition, it is something I dreamed of as a child.
“If I left (last December) or this summer, I will take it in the best way. I think the club knows, and I have discussed it with them.
“Now, I am here. And I am focused on having a great season. We don’t know what will happen in hte summer. Right now, I have a responsibility here with my team. I feel calm. And I think you know that, while I am here, I will give everything.”
