Rangers' £4.2m transfer is 'currently stuck' as player's form collapses in five straight defeats

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Just a few months ago, the Rangers misfit was being labelled a potentially title-deciding addition after leaving Ibrox for a fresh start far away from the Scottish Premiership.

And, after Rangers included a £4.2 million option-to-buy clause in his contract, this felt like one of those deals which benefitted all involved.

Rangers managed to get Jose Cifuentes off the books, albeit initially on a temporary basis. Aris Thessaloniki, meanwhile, got themselves a midfielder potentially capable of ending a 78-year wait for domestic glory.

At least, that was the thinking during Cifuentes’ flying start to life in Greece.

And after losing only once in his first ten Super League appearances, it’s no wonder Cifuentes’ immediate impact at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium was earning the Ecuador international the sort of popularity he never came close to reaching during nine forgetting Premiership appearances under Mick Beale and Philippe Clement.

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Jose Cifuentes’ Rangers exit in doubt as Aris spell goes sour

"Cifuentes is very good, even if he didn't play much at Rangers," Markos Dounis, who scored 22 goals in three league seasons at Aris until 2018, told Metrosports at the end of October. "He has shown very good glimpses.

"He makes a very good partnership in the midfield with Monchu. He is young in age, and is a perfect fit so far for Aris. With Manu Garcia, they are one of the best trios in the league. That's why Aris is ranked highly.

"I think that in order to get into the top four, you have to get such players. It will be difficult to get into the top four, but not impossible.”

Two months on, however, Aris have not only fallen seven points adrift of league leaders Olympiakos, they have also slipped out of the aforementioned top four. The narrative is threatening to turn around Cifuentes too, and potentially at the very worst time.

Greek publication Monobala reports that Aris, and their owner Thodoros Karypidis, are starting to think about whether to turn Cifuentes’ loan deal into a permanent one on the dawn of the January transfer window.

A transfer that would see Rangers make an almost miraculous a £3 million profit on a player who’s impact in Scottish football pales even in comparison to the likes of Sam Lammers.

A transfer which, Monobala add, ‘currently seems to be stuck’.

• READ MORE:Rangers Transfer History 2016-Present

Cifuentes under pressure to turn his and Aris’ form around

Things have certainly turned a little sour of late.

After suffering only one defeat in his first ten Super Lig matches, Cifuentes has now lost five in a row. That includes a 4-0 hammering by top four rivals AEK Athens. He also missed a Greek Cup defeat against the same opposition due to a disciplinary issue.

As luck would have it, and while Cifuentes will obviously be keen to portray it as an unfortunate coincidence, Aris did win the two league matches in which the former LAFC ace missed due to an ankle injury.

“Now, it is up to Cifuentes to transform himself for the better,” Monobala explain, his and Rangers’ hopes of a permanent £4.2 million switch resting on how well he bounces back from the first setback of his Aris career.

“The Christmas break is sure to work to his advantage as long as he makes the most of it.”