Rangers have agreed a deal with Fluminense to sign left-back Jefte but the final decision lies not with the Brazilian giants but with APOEL Nicosia.
When the reports emerged on Friday that Rangers had come to an agreement with Jefte’s parent club, you could have been forgiven for assuming that January signing number three would be following very closely behind January signing number two, Mohamed Diomande’s arrival from FC Nordsjaelland confirmed a few hours earlier.
But Fluminense, it transpires, are not the only club Rangers need to reach an agreement with.
APOEL Nicosia signed Jefte on loan last summer. The Cypriot outfit also have an option-to-buy clause in his contract. And as pointed out by Balla – the publication who broke the news yesterday that Jefte had been left out of the squad for the 4-0 hammering of Nea Salamis – the next 24 hours will will be key in the negotiations that must be held between Rangers and APOEL.
Rangers hope to sign APOEL loanee Jefte
SuperSport FC point out that, if Fluminense want to terminate Jefte’s stay in Nicosia, they will have to pay a compensation fee to APOEL. There is also a very real chance that APOEL opt to trigger the option-to-buy clause in the 20-year-old’s contract, before selling him on to Rangers for a quick buck and an immediate profit.
Either way, APOEL appear to be in the money. Exactly how much money, however, time will tell.
“The amount (required to sign Jefte permanently) is not prohibitive,” APOEL president Prodromos Petridis told the Orange Legacy podcast in December.
“Let’s first let him stay. Let’s buy him.”
Jefte in, Ridvan Yilmaz out?
Jefte, should Rangers manage to get a deal done before next week’s transfer deadline, could free up Ridvan Yilmaz to depart. Galatasaray have indicated that they could offer him a return to Turkey, with a left-back a ‘priority’ of the Super Lig challengers.
Borna Barisic, meanwhile, is due to become a free-agent in the summer.
Jefte, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to play in Europe. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his idol, the Real Madrid legend Marcelo.
“I try to show my skill and creativity,” Jefte told Globo Esporte back in 2021. “At my former club, I played on the wing too, so I already had the skills. I just needed to improve my marking.
“I’m inspired by Marcelo. He’s very different and makes absurd plays on the wing. I always watch videos of him and imagine being like him one day. Playing professionally for Fluminense, for the national team and then in Europe.”
Rangers beat St Mirren 1-0 away from home on Saturday with Cyriel Dessers scoring the winner.
