When Rangers signed LAFC midfielder Jose Cifuentes in the summer there appeared to be cause for subtle celebration.
The Ecuador World Cup star was linked to a host of Premier League clubs and according to the likes of Fabrizio Romano, Rangers pipped the English top flight to the South American.
At a time when Ecuador midfielders are the talk of the day – Chelsea pair Moises Caicedo and Kendry Páez both making headlines recently – the move looked a shrewd one by the club.
Indeed paying somewhere in the region of £500-£750k to make the move permanent after signing a pre-contract, Rangers have high hopes they’ll make substantially more than that in a season or two.
But so far Jose Cifuentes has seen the opening pages of his Rangers career flicker buy without much impact, initially impressive league showings making way for hesitancy in European qualification.
Rangers need to start seeing World Cup pedigree of Jose Cifuentes
Against PSV Eindhoven Jose Cifuentes certainly didn’t look the Premier League-linked box-to-box midfielder Rangers hoped they’d signed in the summer.
In fact, even for a player who has played at the World Cup, the clash against PSV Eindhoven looked like a level beyond anything the Ecuadorean has ever encountered.
Now coming back to Glasgow after a World Cup qualifying break which saw Jose Cifuentes rub shoulders with Lionel Messi of Argentina, it’s time for the club to start seeing more of that potential on the park.
For all the talent Rangers have apparently signed in the midfielder, there is clearly a lack of top-end experience and that’s probably the reason why we’ve got him over the Premier League interest.
Jose Cifuentes has come to Rangers to play a key role at the club for the period of time he’s expected to be here and – given his international pedigree – is probably the club’s marquee move this summer.
After being given time to settle into Ibrox, everyone is waiting for the midfielder to prove why.
