Those Rangers links to Peñarol midfielder Damian Garcia always had a hint of ambition attached to them.
That’s even if the 20-year-old Uruguayan defensive midfielder certainly fits the blueprint of Nils Koppen & co’s summer Rangers rebuild.
Rangers are on the hunt for young talents who are ready to take the next step in their playing careers.
The hope being that they can win big at Ibrox and then bank the club a player trading transfer fortune.
As a result Brazilian left-back Jefte has been brought in from Fluminense, Colombian winger Oscar Cortes from RC Lens and French centre-back Clinton Nsiala from AC Milan.
And whilst the hard work continues as Rangers look to bring more players into the club, reports in Uruguay have given a more definitive update on the future of Damian Garcia.
Where do Rangers Garcia links originate?
Rangers links to Damian Garcia first appeared via reports in South America at the beginning of June.
The Uruguay U20 World Cup winner is out of contract in December and as Rangers scour South American markets, the links looked promising.
These were then intensified by confirmation that the Peñarol president Nacho Ruglio was in attendance at the TransferRoom summit in Cancun alongside Rangers director Nils Koppen.
Throw in Heart & Hand claiming that Rangers are ‘keen’ to strike a deal and suddenly the excitement started building.
But the entire time the player’s agent – a gentleman named Edgardo Lasalvia – had suggested the player would be first signing a new contract in Uruguay.
This is to ensure Peñarol get a fair price for developing Garcia at the club.
“We have been talking and I think we are going to reach an agreement,” Lasalvia said, as quoted by local publication Montevideo.
“They, especially (vice-president Eduardo) Zaidensztat, rest because they know that I am not going to take a free player from the club.
“I’m going to renew it and we’re going to go through the big door.
“Let people (be) rest assured because the players of the TMA team (their representation agency) do not leave through the back door, beyond the leaders. The leaders pass and Peñarol belongs to the people.”
Now, the latest reports coming out of South America have suggested that a bumper new Damian Garcia contract is close to being agreed.
Gers could strike cut-price transfer
Earlier in the week, journalist Dario Alberti claimed that Damian Garcia was close to agreeing a new contract and a substantial wage rise with Peñarol.
The Uruguay-based DSports journalist also claimed that the particulars of a new contract had been thrashed out at the TransferRoom summit in Mexico.
Claiming that Garcia will sign a new two-year contract with Peñarol, it’s believed the midfielder will also have a $10m (£7.9m) release clause inserted into the deal.
But to add an extra dimension to the claims a report in El Observador has suggested the player could leave Uruguay for less than half of this amount.
Referring to comments made about the value of Damian Garcia from the player’s agent Edgardo Lasalvia, it’s believed a fee of around $4m (£3.1m) could be enough to sign the midfielder.
This would include a 20% sell-on fee which protects the interest of Peñarol in the event of any future sale.
That’s certainly a more palatable amount in a Rangers context and with Peñarol adamant an exit won’t happen until the end of the Uruguayan season in December, this remains a situation to watch.
Damian Garcia was always likely to strike a deal with Peñarol this month to protect the club’s financial and playing interests.
Whilst any notion Rangers could strike this summer has always been ambitious, the winter window might be a different story altogether.
