Sport
Rangers transfer deal almost agreed as 19-cap international closes in on switch
Rangers midfielder Jose Cifuentes is closing in on a return to South America and a move to Brazilian side Cruzeiro.
The Ecuadorean international, 24, left his home country and Quito club Universidad Católica del Ecuador to sign for LAFC in the MLS four years ago this month.
Moving to Rangers from the American club in the summer, six months and 20 appearances later it appears Cifuentes is already moving on from Scotland in the latest damning indictment of the club’s summer business.
Jose Cifuentes closes in on Cruzeiro move
That’s according to Ecuadorean outlet Mr Offsider and journalist Nicky Maridueña, who is being credited with breaking the story in South America.
It’s being claimed that after talks over a deal to Rizespor in Turkey had collapsed, it opened the door to the Belo Horizonte club who appear to have struck a deal.
This comes after the likes of Alan Nixon claimed Rangers had given Cruzeiro permission to speak with Jose Cifuentes.
Whilst we’ll wait to hear anything official from Rangers or Cruzeiro directly, Mr Offsider was very close to Rangers’ summer move for Jose Cifuentes as his contract ticked down at LAFC.
After a difficult six months in Scotland, where difficulty settling and a series of injury and fitness issues hampered his development, it now appears like Cifu is heading back across the Atlantic.
Rangers midfielder set for transfer
Rangers fans certainly have the right to be disappointed in the situation with Jose Cifuentes, especially given the midfielder arrived to Ibrox with a sizeable reputation.
Having been linked to Brighton and Newcastle United in recent seasons, and Manchester City and Celtic earlier in his career, Rangers were supposed to be getting a 19-cap international talent who’d transform their midfield.
What’s happened instead is a player who is not used to either the style or expectations of playing for Rangers in Scotland.
Having cost a reported £1.2m – a figure which coincidentally Michael Beale, the manager who recruited Cifuentes, refutes – the details of Cruzeiro’s offer to sign Jose Cifuentes remain unclear.
However it’s worth noting that Rangers reportedly accepted an initial loan with compulsory £2m purchase option from Rizespor for the player’s services.
This could mean that despite Cifuentes’ disappointing Ibrox stint, the club could be about to bank a profit on the midfielder.
