Rangers now in talks to agree new transfer fee for impressive £16k-p/w ace

Rangers could stand to lose after a club entered into negotiations to change the transfer fee that had already been agreed with the Ibrox outfit, it has emerged.

Rangers under pressure

It has been a dismal start to the season for Rangers, with Philippe Clement under pressure to turn things around in Glasgow. His side sit third in the Scottish Premiership, a massive 11 points behind reigning champions and major rivals Celtic, while they also sit seven points behind Aberdeen, albeit with a game in hand on Jimmy Thelin’s side.

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It has been a more successful story in Europe; after being knocked out of the Champions League by Dinamo Kyiv, they have lost just once in five games in the Europa League and sit within the automatic qualification spots for the knockout rounds after an emphatic 4-1 win over Nice in the south of France.

With games against Tottenham, Manchester United and Union Saint Gilloise still to come, they are certainly well placed to have a shot at the knockout round at the very worst.

January reinforcements are likely, but it is unclear how much money is available at Ibrox following a heavy summer window. Now, they could have been dealt a blow before the transfer window has even opened.

Club want discount on Cifuentes

Though Jose Cifuentes’ spell at Rangers was not what anyone was hoping for, he has enjoyed an impressive campaign since departing Ibrox, so much so that there is hope he can be signed permanently, provided Clement’s side drop their asking price.

The highly-rated Ecuadorian midfielder arrived at Ibrox for £1.2m thanks to the work of former Rangers boss Michael Beale, who predicted that he would add “real quality” to his side.

“He has a great personality and I thought he showed a couple of minutes of real quality“, he explained after the signing was confirmed.

But that quality never shone through at Ibrox, and after just 12 months Cifuentes was moved on by new manager Clement, joining Aris Saloniki on loan in the most recent summer transfer window, capping a dismal 20 appearance stay in Scotland.

However, he has recovered his form in Greece, and is helping his side mount an unlikely title charge in the Super League, though three successive losses have left them six points off top spot. Aris inserted an option to buy Cifuentes into the deal, believed to sit at £4.2m, plus agreeing to cover part of his £16,000 a week wages.

But the Greek side are now keen to pay less than that to secure their key target, and The Sun report that they have “now opened negotiations with Rangers in an attempt to get them to lower their £4.2million future transfer fee”.

It is added that “they feel the transfer fee is too high” for the Ecuadorian, and though they would like to keep the player, it does not sound like they are willing to match the asking price for him to remain in Greece.

Having shelled out just £1.2m for Cifuentes, Rangers could well be willing to compromise on his sale, given that they are likely to still profit from the deal.