Jose Cifuentes to Rangers transfer update as protracted deal nears conclusion after contract details emerge

Rangers are close to announcing their NINTH capture of the summer after Jose Cifuentes touched down at Glasgow Airport to finally complete his long-awaited move from Los Angeles FC.

The talented box-to-box central midfielder will sign a bumper four-year deal with the Ibrox side, but no official confirmation is expected until tomorrow at the earliest.

The Eduardorian international has been a specific long-term target for boss Michael Beale and will become the latest new addition through the door after previously agreeing to a pre-contract earlier this month as a result of having only five months left on his current deal.

Rangers were willing to thrash out a £1.2million fee with LAFC to bring Cifuentes in before the start of the new Scottish Premiership season this weekend, rather than waiting until the end of the MLS season in December to bring him to Scotland on a free transfer.

The 24-year-old is expected to get up to speed quickly, having played a bulk of games for the Black and Golds in America and takes the Gers spending spree to around £13million.

Why has the deal taken so long to come to fruition?

It has been the longest-running transfer saga of the summer but the club are finally set to formally unveil Cifuentes as a Rangers player. A protracted deal has taken almost two months to push over the line and the pressure will be on the player’s shoulders to prove he’s been worth the wait.

Cifuentes was granted his visa to travel to Scotland towards the end of last week and The Athletic had reported that he could be signed in time for last Saturday’s friendly clash against Hoffenheim in Germany.

However, prominent Ecuardorian journalist Adriano Savalli who has been keeping tabs on the transfer closely claimed Cifuentes would in fact complete his switch this week instead as anticipation surrounding his arrival continued to build.

Medical tests were successfully carried out in LA on July 26 as the final pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place for the eagerly-anticipated move to happen.

Where will Jose Cifuentes fit into the Rangers team?

The expectation is that Cifuentes will become a regular starter at the base of a box midfield alongside Nicolas Raskin. Rangers manager Beale indicated that he is unlikely to throw the player in at the deep end against Kilmarnock on the artificial pitch at Rugby Park, but he could be in line to make his debut as a substitute this weekend.

Cifuentes bring match fitness to the table and will initially compete with Ryan Jack and John Lundstram who are also competing for that spot in the starting line-up. However, long-term it’s going to be Cifuentes’ position to lose. His impressive skill-set promises to make him a formidable force in the Gers midfield.