Rangers are close to completing a deal to bring in Jose Cifuentes, according to Herald Scotland.
Who is Jose Cifuentes?
The midfielder was brought onto the footballing scene at just 16-years-old with Universidad Catolica in Ecuador. Despite being so young, he played five league games for the side and eventually joined CD America on loan to get even more regular football. Having caught the eye there in 2019, he was then poached by current club Los Angeles FC in the MLS.
The North American outfit stumped up a fee of around 2.7 million Euros (or £2.3m) to take him to the States and he has thrived ever since. He's become a frequent starter for the club and even helped them to second place in the standings in the 2022 season. Still only 24-years-old, he now has 123 appearances over the course of his footballing career and has bagged 13 goals with 15 assists along the way – solid stats for a central midfield player.
Having proven his mettle in the USA, Cifuentes could now be given the opportunity to try his luck in Scotland. That's because Rangers are now closing in on a move to bring him to the Scottish Premiership, according to a report from Herald Scotland. It suggests that a deal is pretty imminent for the midfielder, with a deal "expected" to be completed "sooner rather than later".
Is Cifuentes an Ecuador international?
Cifuentes will also add some international experience to the side. The 24-year-old talent has already become a reliable squad member for his national side, having made his debut for Ecuador back in 2019.
He hasn't featured as much as he would probably like – he has just 16 appearances to his name over the course of that four year period – but a move to Rangers could put him on their radar and get him some more caps under his belt. If he can impress on the European stage with the Gers, then that would surely help him to stand out too.
The MLS star then could soon become an official member of the Rangers team – and it seems as though it may only be a matter of when and not if now in regards to a transfer to see him wave America goodbye and say hello to the Scottish league for next season.