Rangers overcome final hurdle to seal Jose Cifuentes transfer after new development
Rangers have now overcome the final hurdle in their quest to sign Los Angeles FC midfielder Jose Cifuentes with the player now set to receive his Visa.
According to Ecuadorian reporter Andres Ponce, taking to his personal Twitter account on 27 July, the 24-year-old will be issued his Visa and travel to Glasgow next week to complete his long-awaited move to Ibrox.
The Ecuadorian international is expected to cost the Gers about £400k despite Los Angeles FC reportedly previously valuing him at £1.2million and in a tweet from official Rangers partner (28 July), Cifuentes could be announced next week following the announcement of their eighth transfer in Danilo.
Cifuentes has been on the cards as an Ibrox arrival throughout the transfer window, with Michael Beale desperate to get a deal done this summer rather than when his LAFC contract expires in December.
News of Cifuentes’ imminent arrival will be welcome and relieving news for the Gers fans who have been patiently waiting for this transfer to go through, after several twists and turns during the process of agreeing on a deal to bring the player from the MLS to Glasgow.
However, it now seems as if the Gers have cut through the red tape to close in on the Ecuadorian maestro. Once he has been issued the document, he will be able to travel to Glasgow next week to complete the final stages of the move and become a Gers player.
The club have been looking to strengthen their midfield this summer following the departure of Scott Arfield, while Glen Kamara is also expected to leave the club soon and Beale could well be creating a stunning new midfield triumvirate between the likes of Nicolas Raskin, Todd Cantwell and Cifuentes.
It’s clear Beale and his team need some midfield dynamism and invention and Cifuentes has long been the perfect fit to fulfil those responsibilities, making 7.69 progressive passes per 90 (91st percentile) and 2.47 progressive carries per 90 (91st percentile) [FBRef].
His goalscoring for a central midfielder is also impressive, with 0.16 goals per 90 (90th percentile) showing him to be a dangerous attacking presence within the LAFC midfield.
The deal taking him to Ibrox now looks very close to completion, meaning the box-to-box midfielder should be in place ahead of the start of the new season.
In other Rangers news, one Liverpool attacker took to Instagram to send a message to new Ibrox signing Danilo.