Sport
Rangers give club permission to speak with 24-year-old over transfer
Rangers have let Jose Cifuentes talk to Brazilian Campeonato side Cruzeiro about a potential loan move as doubts surround a bid from Turkey.
Reports claim Rangers have accepted a £2m loan-to-buy bid from Turkish Super Lig side Rizespor with the 24-year-old falling down the pecking order at Ibrox.
But with an exit looming large, claims that Jose Cifuentes doesn’t fancy a move to Turkey have raised doubts that a transfer can be completed.
Now, Alan Nixon is claiming that Rangers have agreed to let Jose Cifuentes discuss a move to Cruzeiro as the midfielder potentially eyes a return to South America.
Jose Cifuentes to Cruzeiro?
It’s been a hugely underwhelming six months at Rangers for Jose Cifuentes, who arrived with big expectations late in the summer transfer window.
Signed for a reported £1.2m despite agreeing a pre-contract, Rangers fans were excited abut the prospect of landing an Ecuadorean World Cup midfielder.
Instead, 24-year-old Cifuentes has seen his brief Rangers career interrupted with injuries and rumours about difficulties settling into the lifestyle in Scotland.
Combine this with the arrival Mohamed Diomande this January, and the emergence of Dujon Sterling in midfield, and suddenly chances are limited for the former MLS star to make an impression.
It all points to an exit although it will be very interesting to see Cifuentes return to South America, four years on from leaving Ecuadorean side Universidad Católica for the MLS.
Rangers stint hasn’t worked for Ecuador midfielder
In total, Jose Cifuentes has made 20 appearances for Rangers with 14 of them starts, so it’s not like the midfielder hasn’t had opportunities.
Not seen since he was subbed off at halftime in the 3-2 win over Real Betis in Spain, the writing certainly appeared to be on the wall in the final part of the last year.
Now Jose Cifuentes faces an almighty decision over his future, with a return to South American lucrative but also a potential death knell for any European career.
South American stars are tasked with testing themselves across the Atlantic and there’s a not so subtle admittance of failure should the midfielder return to the continent.
If a deal is to go through with Jose Cifuentes and Cruzeiro, everyone at Ibrox will wish the midfielder all the best.
But there’s a sense of disappointment surrounding the deal with Cifu initially tipped to achieve big things in Glasgow.
