As Rangers narrowly overcame Servette at Ibrox, the brief sighting of Ecuador World Cup star Jose Cifuentes is proving one of the biggest positives from the game.
The Gers huffed and puffed in the Champions League QR3 at Ibrox and blew a big chance to leave the 10-man Swiss outfit out on their feet heading into the second leg.
As things stand, Rangers will take a narrow 2-1 lead to Servette and whilst fans are happy to register a first win of the season, there are plenty of nerves with a £4.5m jackpot hanging in the balance.
But when Rangers travel to Switzerland to face Servette the Ibrox side’s fans will be hoping that reported £1m summer signing Jose Cifuentes is ready to start games for the club.
Perhaps the transfer saga of the summer, Fabrizio Romano claims the Gers held off Premier League competition to sign the LAFC midfielder, who joins after initially signing a pre-contract at Ibrox.
Jose Cifuentes impresses Rangers fans v Servette
Having also played at the Qatari World Cup with Ecuador, coming off the bench in group stage clashes with Qatar and Senegal, Jose Cifuentes boasts an impressive return of 16 caps for his country.
It had plenty of Ibrox eyes on the international as he was introduced to proceedings against Servette and Jose Cifuentes certainly made a solid first impression on an expectant Rangers support.
Showing physicality, hunger and drive, there were brief glimpses of what Cifuentes might bring to Rangers in the 20 or so minutes he eventually got on the Ibrox pitch.
It’s still very early days but there is real excitement that Jose Cifuentes can bring Rangers some much-needed urgency to midfield with the area a general cause for concern.
Rangers fans have viewed the area as too static with Michael Beale’s two defensive midfielder system coming in for huge scrutiny in the wake of the defeat at Kilmarnock.
Whilst the clash with Servette was on Champions League duty, Rangers fans will be hoping to catch another glimpse of Jose Cifuentes in the Premiership this weekend.
With Livingston coming to town, and Cifuentes joining mid-MLS season making him fit to play, fans will be hoping for the player to start v David Martindale’s Lions.
Should the Ecuadorean do so, it’ll be a chance to further endear himself to an Ibrox support increasingly excited about what the South American can bring to Rangers.
