One of the frustrating things for Rangers fans this summer has been how quiet it has been in terms of transfer rumours.
Since Vaclav Cerny and Robin Propper arrived over three weeks ago, there has been almost nothing for them to get their teeth into.
And then Fabrizio Romano drops the news that Rangers have bid for Almeria prodigy Kaiky, a player once the subject of an agreement with one of Europe’s super-powers.
Fabrizio Romano reveals Rangers move for Kaiky
According to the transfer supremo, the 20-year old centre-half has been at the centre of a loan to buy bid as the Ibrox outfit look to improve their squad.
The details are an initial loan fee of around £500,000 with a purchase clause of £6m, Almeria would also get 30% of any further sale.
It’s not yet clear if it is an option or an obligation to buy clause that was offered to the Spaniards.
As reported by Romano, the deal was rejected, however, it is an indication of what Rangers want to achieve this summer – even if they are leaving it a bit late.
Whilst still at Santos, Kaiky was on the radar of Barcelona and came tantalisingly close to joining too.
Speaking in 2022 after a deal had been reached with Barcelona, Santos president Andres Rueda was full of praise for the then teen defender, as reported by Sport 45:
“He is a spectacular centre-back . I insist, we cannot forget that he is 18 years old, even if he doesn’t seem like it.
“He has played in the Libertadores and has a very strong degree of maturity and a very stable behaviour. It is difficult to see him play a bad game. He also comes from a structured family, which has done everything to ensure that he can succeed. His family is excellent.”
The deal that was agreed gave Barcelona first refusal, however, due to their financial problems, they had to prioritise elsewhere, and Kaiky moved to Almeria.
Kaiky fits Philippe Clement’s signing policy perfectly
The young Brazilian is exactly the type of player who Philippe Clement spoke about earlier this year when explaining where Rangers needed to do better in the transfer market:
“We have our plan and I feel that everybody is aligned, that the club really wants to make an effort to do things inside of the budget.
“This season to have five players out of contract is a crazy situation because you throw away money. They have no value any more if the contract is ended.
“I know that we are not the most wealthy club in the world. We want to get transfers in that can have an impact now but also can have added value for the next couple of years on the field and selling them for bigger amounts.”
Kaiky is certainly a player who fits this profile and the manager obviously has more money to play with than expected.
Maybe Rangers fans aren’t in for a depressing run down to deadline day after all.
