Rangers' hopes of £4m transfer currently look dead, manager 'not satisfied' as negotiations stall
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Suddenly, Rangers’ hopes of a £4 million windfall at some point this year have taken a real hit.
When the Premiership giants agreed a deal to send Jose Cifuentes on loan to Greek side Aris over the summer – with a £4 million option to buy clause in their contract – it almost felt too good to be true.
Surely Rangers could not double their money on a player who made only nine league appearances in Glasgow? How on earth had they convinced Aris to part with a potential club-record fee given just how underwhelming Cifuentes was during his brief spell in Scotland?
Well, as things threaten to turn sour once again for the Ecuador international, any hopes Rangers had of adding £4 million to their budget appear to be growing increasingly fanciful by the week.
According to reports, discussions between Aris and Jose Cifuentes are currently ‘stuck’. The former Los Angeles FC ace started brightly over in Greek football but his influence has waned recently.
Cifuentes did not even make it off the bench as Aris lost 2-0 to OFI Crete last time out. Punishment, local publication Sportal claim, for his ‘level of effort’ in recent weeks. Or, more appropriately, a lack thereof.
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Rangers £4m Jose Cifuentes hopes damaged as he struggles with Aris
“With Aris [losing against OFI Crete], the most logical thing for [head coach Marinos] Ouzounidis would be to look for a solution from a player who has the characteristics of a game changer,” Sportal write.
“The fact that he did [bring on Cifuentes] was probably not accidental but was a conscious decision by the Greek coach that has little to do with the fact that he missed two training sessions due to a virus during the week, but with the player’s general behaviour.
“It is obvious that Ouzounidis has not been satisfied with the level of effort. From the low intensity he produces and his unwillingness to come forward and become the protagonist, a role that the club sought to give him when it decided to bring him in last summer.
“And to be honest, Cifuentes has not responded to this.”
Metro Sport add that, currently, there are no plans to make Cifuentes’ loan deal into a permanent transfer.
Cifuentes will have to return to Ibrox if he doesn’t stay in Greece
Whether he can turn things around, only time will tell.
After failing to make his mark at Rangers, Cifuentes will know that another poor spell will have rather substantial repercussions for his reputation. A return to his parent club is something you’d imagine the 25-year-old would like to avoid as well, particularly if Philippe Clement is still in the dugout come the summer.
The chances of that happening, meanwhile, look pretty slim too at present.
Large sections of the Rangers supporters have lost faith in Clement in the aftermath of Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Dundee. A result which leaves The Gers 15 points off the top of the table, and having won only three of their 11 away matches in the Premiership this season.
Billy Dodds labels Rangers’ away record ‘outrageously poor’, and it is increasingly difficult to argue against the one-time Ibrox hitman.
