Thomas Galdames is one of a number of players who’ve been linked to Rangers from Latin America recently.
The Chileno defender, 25, was mentioned as an Ibrox transfer target alongside initially unnamed Belgian teams following the collapse of the Jose Cordoba deal.
A left-sided defender who is a natural centre-back, in recent seasons there’s been an attempt to develop the athletic 6ft Chilean into an aggressive left-back option.
It’s resulted in much chatter around Thomas Galdames as he prepares to leave Argentine club Godoy Cruz.
With the discussion around the player’s future halted by the Copa America, following Chile’s exit from the tournament Galdames is set to decide his next move.
Now a report in Belgium has been providing an update with regards Rangers’ interest in the defender and what is likely to happen next.
Galdames closing in on transfer
Back in June it was claimed that Royal Antwerp are the Belgian club keeping close tabs on Thomas Galdames this summer.
The report had suggested that it was the Pro League side and Rangers who were set to do battle for the defender’s signature in this transfer window.
Voetbal Nieuws have been providing a fresh update regarding the links and – interestingly – suggest it’s a move to Royal Antwerp, and not Rangers, which is edging closer.
It’s now believed that Antwerp are closing in on a double South American swoop after completing a deal for Argentine left-sided Independiente defender Ayrton Costa.
The situation with Chilean centre-back Thomas Galdames is a tad more complex as the Great Old look to strengthen the left-back area of their squad ahead of the new season.
It’s claimed that Rangers’ interest in Galdames has now ‘cooled’ with Antwerp in pole position to take ‘advantage’ of the situation.
With Rangers potentially out of the picture, Voetbal Nieuws reckons a deal to bring Galdames to Belgium is now very much in the ‘pipeline’.
Rangers’ summer of left-back upheaval
Whilst Thomas Galdames has a solid profile, Rangers already look to have moved elsewhere.
The club has added Brazilian left-back Jefte to their ranks this summer after Borna Barisic left for Trabzonspor.
Turkish option Ridvan Yilmaz is also expected to stay at Rangers next season despite links to the likes of newly-promoted Bundesliga club St Pauli.
Rangers have also added talented left-sided centre-back Clinton Nsiala, 20, to their squad with the defender convinced to join from AC Milan with the promise of first-team football.
Ben Davies – who admittedly has been tipped to quit the club – is another option in the position and is on a sizeable wage.
It means that for the time being at least, Rangers are well-stocked on the left-side of defence and Thomas Galdames would face serious competition to break through into the team.
At the same time, if the defender is to move to Antwerp and Rangers are to see more upheaval in this area of the squad, perhaps the club might regret a failure to capture the Chilean.
