Rangers talent to be offered chance to make Premier League 'dream' a reality - report
01/27/2025 11:05 AM
Philippe Clement insists Rangers need to get creative in the transfer market if they're to deliver the consistent success the club's fans crave.
Rangers fumbled the ball in the aftermath of lifting 55 in 2021 and either held on to players for too long or misspent the transfer funds that had been generated.
But the times they a'changing at Ibrox and now one of the poster boys of the Rangers transfer revolution is reportedly popping up on the radar of Premier League giants Chelsea.
Chelsea 'express interest' in Jefte
Jefte Vital is regularly singled out as being one of the prime examples of Rangers' new approach to the transfer market in action.
Nils Koppen had his sights on the 20-year-old Brazilian last January but Rangers couldn't negotiate an early termination of the player's loan deal at APOEL.
Joining the Gers from Brazilian side Fluminense in the summer, Jefte has emerged as Rangers' first choice left-back this season.
Now, a report in Brazil is claiming that Chelsea have 'expressed interest' in signing the young Rangers left-back after his impressive performances at Ibrox.
Central Fluminense claim that if an agreement cannot be reached this January, then Chelsea are willing to come back to the negotiating table in the summer.
It's worth noting that Central Fluminense do have some history reporting on Jefte and the left-back's move to Rangers.
Back in May, the Fluminense podcast claimed Rangers had paid €800k (£670k) for the defender and that the Brazilian side retained a 20% sell-on option on the player.
That statistic has been quoted once again with Fluminense set to benefit from any future sale of Jefte with the left-back contracted to Rangers until 2028.
In theory this means if Rangers sell Jefte for £10m then £2m will go to the Brazilian club.
'Very talented' Jefte has Premier League 'dream'
Rangers News is working on confirming the Chelsea reports, although it is believed Jefte's form is being followed by a number of top clubs.
Speaking back in August, Philippe Clement claimed Rangers held off a number of teams to convince Jefte that his future lied at Ibrox.
"He's a very talented player that’s why we made a big fight during six months to get him here,” said Clement, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“But from January on we kept a lot of contact with him and he was really convinced to come to Rangers, although a lot of teams were interested in him.
“He’s a very talented player for the future who for sure needs to learn still a lot, but it’s normal as he's only 20 and he has one year experience in Europe.
"But he has the right mentality to fight and to be there for the team, and he has a lot of physical and technical qualities.”
Jefte also spoke to RangersTV in January and admitted it is his 'dream' to play in the English Premier League.
"Long term, I've always had the ambition of playing in the Premier League – that's a dream of mine," said Jefte.
"But that's talking long term. For now, my mind is here, and what I want is to help this club."
Jefte has made 34 appearances for Rangers already this season, laying on two assists.
