Rangers are reportedly closing in on signing Lens talent Oscar Cortes with a loan-to-buy deal believed to be on the verge of completion.
It’s all happening at Ibrox right now with a busy few days expected ahead of the transfer deadline.
Mohamed Diomande arrived on Friday and Brazilian left back Jefte may not be far behind as he nears a move from Fluminense via APOEL.
We now have another name in the mix with reports in Colombia indicating that Rangers have agreed to sign Lens winger Oscar Cortes.
Rangers will allegedly take Cortes on loan with an option to buy, so let’s take a look at his career so far…
Oscar Cortes, the story so far
Cortes hails from Turnaco in Colombia and came up in the Millonarios ranks, some 21 hours away from his home town.
Cortes made his first-team debut in 2022 and never looked back, racking up seven goals and five assists in 28 first-team appearances.
That sparked interest from Europe and Lens were able to strike a deal worth around €4.5million (£3.8million) over the summer.
There were high hopes for Cortes in France but he has only managed four first-team appearances this season, bagging one goal and one assist.
Cortes made his debut for Colombia last summer and has been a regular at Under-20 level, bagging 11 goals in 25 appearances.
Oscar Cortes, the story so far
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 03/12/2003
- Position: Winger
- Club: Lens
- Former clubs: Millonarios
- Nationality: Colombian
- Contract: Until June 2028
Oscar Cortes, what they say
“This raw and promising talent joins a group with another international – Deiver Machado – who, like him, wore the Colombian blue and white jersey. Surrounded by a staff who have demonstrated their ability to develop the young talents of the squad, Oscar will be in good hands to evolve in a championship that he is impatient to discover,” – Lens general director Arnaud Pouille.
“The ’16’, Cortés if I’m not wrong, I love how he plays, he has an imbalance. Each one of us is different, I think he is a player that I love,” – former Colombia striker Darwin Quintero.
Oscar Cortes to Rangers analysis
This is another fascinating move if it comes off.
Signing Diomande was exciting and it may be an indication of the direction Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen want to go in.
The last couple of rumours have surrounded two more exciting young talents, this time South American ones in Jefte and now Cortes.
It’s clear that Cortes has talent; he showed that in Colombia but just hasn’t settled in France.
If Cortes can get back on track at Rangers, he could become a star for years to come and potentially earn Rangers big money down the line.
Cortes has real versatility and has so much room to grow under Clement at just 20, so this is the kind of signing we would get behind.
