Rangers have barely had time to breathe since the season kicked off with Philippe Clement now having to concentrate on match preparations and training, leaving Nils Koppen to focus on transfer business.
The manager has been distracted by Champions League qualification, but the rumours continue to come thick and fast.
A new name has emerged in a position that has been a problem in the past as Mahamadou Diarra gets linked with a move to Rangers according to Africafoot.
Rangers in talks for Mahamadou Diarra transfer
The WSG Tirol youngster is highly rated and has already been capped at Under-23 level by Mali after an exciting breakthrough season in the Austrian Bundesliga.
A powerfully built striker, Diarra contributed four goals and one assist in 23 appearances, starting 17 league games in total as he adapted to European football.
The report claims that a fee has been considered and that talks have already taken place:
“According to our information at Africafoot , phone calls have taken place between the player’s agent and Glasgow Rangers scouts in the last few hours.
“On the agenda of the discussion, the contract that Mahamadou Diarra should have at Rangers, his playing time, the club’s project and also the transfer bonus.
“According to information from the Africafoot editorial team, the Scots would not want to pay more than 2 million euros for the player.”
Philippe Clement has three forwards on his books now with Danilo fit enough to feature in matchday squads and Hamza Igamane almost in full training.
It’s been a while since a Rangers manager had three strikers at his disposal.
Jose Cifuentes transfer could fund Rangers signing of Diarra
What could be used to fund the move is the departure of Jose Cifuentes.
Speculation has been rife about what the fee might be, however, Aris Thessaloniki have agreed an option to buy, not an obligation to buy as was initially claimed:
“Rangers FC today confirms Jose Cifuentes has joined Aris Thessaloniki on a season-long loan, with an option to buy.
“This follows the ending of his loan spell with Cruzeiro. Everyone at Rangers wishes @JoseCifu51 well in Greece.”
Cifuentes was a player who Michael Beale tipped for big things and when his signing was announced, the former manager was clearly happy with his capture:
“Jose is a player we have followed for a long time,” Beale said.
“He is a midfielder who can play in a variety of roles, both as a box-to-box player and in a more defensive role. He has excelled in the MLS and for his national team.”
Strangely, Cifuentes’ former coach at LAFC described him as more of an attack minded midfielder and even as a number 10.
From his early appearances, the Ecuador international just didn’t look comfortable and it can only be hoped that his loan move to Cyprus goes better than his one to Brazil did.
