Danilo could jet into Glasgow today as Rangers transfer finally accepted
Rangers look to have finally got their man as Danilo could be set for permission to jet into Glasgow to join Michael Beale’s side now that Feyenoord have found a replacement, according to the Daily Record.
The Brazilian forward has long been a target of the Gers and their latest offer has now been accepted, with the Dutch side moving to sign Calvin Stengs from Nice as a replacement, beating Antwerp to the Dutchman’s signature.
Danilo will therefore be given permission to travel to Scotland to sign his contract with the Ibrox side, something that could even happen today based on the timelines.
There were times when the deal looked as though it would collapse, with multiple bids being submitted and then ultimately rejected before a fee reportedly higher than the last £5.2m offer was accepted.
A Dutch source speaking to the Daily Record said: “The situation has moved incredibly quickly and, as we speak, Feyenoord are completing the deal to buy Stengs. It seems they are using the money agreed with Rangers for Danilo to finance the deal. I think you can now safely say that Danilo is in the starting blocks to take the next flight to Glasgow.”
The 24-year-old is an incredibly exciting signing for Rangers and his qualities are ultimately displayed by just how hard the people behind the scenes at Ibrox have worked to secure his signature and how quickly they’ve arranged to try and get him to Glasgow today,
A quick glance at his FBREf scouting report shows an awful lot of green, an immediately encouraging sign for any Gers fan wondering what their new signing will bring. The Brazilian is a genuine shot monster, taking an average of 4.24 shots per 90 minutes, putting him in the 98th percentile of forwards in Europe’s next eight competitions.
He also has an incredibly high number of touches in the opposition penalty area, his 7.14 per 90 placing him in the top three per cent of strikers and perhaps best of all his non-penalty expected goals put him in line to score a goal every other game.
A quick look over those stats offers an idea of why Beale was so keen to bring Danilo to Ibrox this summer and why Rangers were happy to up their bid once more, but the Brazilian can help in defence as well, lying in the top 2% of forwards for interceptions and blocks.
Get him in the building
Now Rangers will be keen to have him in the building as quickly as possible, with pre-season well underway, they don’t have a lot of time to get their new Brazilian forward up to speed before the season opener against Kilmarnock on 5 August.
They will also be likely attempting to ensure that Feyenoord cannot change their mind on the striker’s availability once more. Rangers attempted to get this deal underway more than a week ago and have had to play by the Eredivisie champions’ terms for long enough.
If they are able to get all the paperwork and medical tests done this afternoon, it will increase the likelihood that Danilo will be present against Olympiacos in the Gers’ penultimate friendly on July 26, or at least the following fixture against Hoffenheim.
Whichever game sees the 24-year-old forward make his debut, it’ll undoubtedly feel long overdue for both the Rangers fans and his new manager.
He could be set to jet in immediately.
In other Rangers news, Scott Arfield believes Rangers’ next captain is already at Ibrox