Anthony Onifade

Thu 15 June 2023 17:10, UK

Rangers may now be closing in on the £1.5m transfer of Jose Cifuentes after the midfielder was left out of Los Angeles FC’s squad to face Houston Dynamo last night.

Rangers announced Butland as the latest player to join the club with the English goalkeeper signing a four-year deal, joining Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling through the Ibrox doors as Michael Beale gets his squad revamp underway.

The Daily Record revealed on 6 June that Cifuentes was set to be the next signing through the door following Butland’s announcement. It is believed that Gers boss Michael Beale wants to bring in Cifuentes now ahead of pre-season in a deal which could cost up to £1.5m.

And in a pleasing new development for Beale and his quest to strengthen his squad ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, he may well be drawing ever so closer to the transfer of the Colombian midfield maestro.

Los Angeles FC had an MLS fixture on Wednesday night [14 June] against Houston Dynamo in which they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat before having a man sent off.

However, Cifuentes’ who has been a regular in the team, featuring in 13 of their 15 MLS Western Conference games so far was strangely left out of the team giving a considerable hint to Rangers fans that his move to Ibrox may now be edging ever so closer.

Rangers cannot ignore the fact they need to sign multiple players this summer and it’s good to see that an early and meticulous effort is being made to bolster Beale’s squad so quickly.

Celtic’s success during the 2022/23 campaign seems to have struck a nerve at the club, and they are responding brilliantly by providing Beale with the tools he needs to build this side into his image.

The signings of Dowell, Sterling and Butland will prove excellent business by Beale and shows that he’s been planning for their arrivals for a long while.

With Cifuentes set to follow through the Ibrox doors, fans can already begin to picture what the Rangers squad could look like once the season kicks off again in August.

The Ecuadorian represents a smart and astute addition to a side in desperate need of some cutting-edge play in midfield and Cifuentes certainly provides that in abundance.

The 24-year-old may be seen as an unknown quantity to some Rangers fans, but there’s a reason why Beale has identified him as a top target to strengthen his midfield options as the Gers faithful can do nothing but to trust that Cifuentes is the man to provide the spark alongside the likes of January signings Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin who have both settled in brilliantly.

Rangers certainly mean business this summer as they look to close in on a new striker signing in Sam Lammers, but if last night’s development in America is anything to go by, Cifuentes may well become an Ibrox player in no time at all.

In other Rangers news, the door is now open for the Gers to make a run at a third striker for nothing and things could “move fast”.