Nils Koppen has ‘new Rangers headache to solve’ amid Jose Cifuentes news
Jose Cifuentes is another Rangers transfer that didn’t quite work out as anyone would have hoped.
Much like some of his teammates, it’s felt like the Gers have wasted their money on the Ecuadorian with the midfielder failing to live up to expectations.
Although he’s currently out on loan to Greek side Aris Salonika for the season, it seems that Nils Koppen now has a new Rangers headache to solve regarding where his future might lie.
That’s because Aris manager, Marinos Ouzoundis is “planning a major reboot” of his squad with Cifuentes seemingly not a part of his plans.
That is, according to a report from the Daily Mail (15 January) who shared the latest news on the attacker.
“Cifuentes actually started the season promisingly, helping his club to the top of the table,” the news outlet wrote.
“But Aris’s form since then nosedived, with manager Akis Mantzios fired in December and replaced by Marinos Ouzounidis.
“Reports in Thessaloniki now claim that Ouzounidis is already planning a major reboot of the squad this summer, and that Cifuentes isn’t part of his plans.
“It looks like Rangers technical director Nils Koppen will need to get creative, either to find a buyer for the Ecuadorian or another club willing to cover his wages.”
Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen need to rid Rangers of their deadweight
Over the last couple of seasons, there has been more than one transfer that has made Rangers fans question why they were brought to Ibrox in the first place.
Whether it be the revolving door around managers or the fact that they’re just looking in the wrong areas, it feels like the Gers have had some pretty poor recruitment recently.
Granted, their vision to unearth polished Gems has seemed to work out this season with Hamza Igamane becoming a crucial part of Clement’s set-up but aside from that, it’s hard to see where else this transfer idea has worked.
Even though Clement has been at the centre of talks for most of the Gers’ season thus far regarding his role, it seems that the 50-year-old is set to stay in charge with Patrick Stewart even publically backing him.
However, unless deadweight such as Cifuentes and perhaps even the likes of Oscar Cortes are sold on, Rangers won’t be able to make any sort of progress.
It’s evident that change needs to happen at Ibrox and unless something occurs soon, they could find themselves in the shadow of the arch-rivals for years to come.
In other Rangers news, a BBC Scotland journalist has shared his thoughts on the potential “intriguing” outcome of Patrcik Stewart’s independent review.
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