One of Rangers’ summer signings has seen his value soar already since his move to Ibrox.
Glasgow Rangers kept another clean sheet under Philippe Clement, yet a lack of ruthlessness meant the Ibrox side had to settle for a point in their latest Europa League clash.
Sparta Prague were the dominant side until the Belgian brought Danilo on and the Brazilian offered something that they had been missing throughout the opening hour or so and came close to scoring with a stunning effort that rattled the crossbar.
A point was probably a fair result in the end and Clement should be happy with the progress of his squad since taking over a couple of weeks ago. There is a long way to go until the end of the season, yet, if everyone buys into his tactical ideologies then success might not be too far away.
In the meantime, however, he will have to work his way through a hectic fixture list using the squad that Michael Beale assembled before he was sacked and some of the new arrivals have yet to really showcase their true talents.
Beale signed nine new players for Rangers during the summer
There were also several outgoings too, as the likes of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, and Allan McGregor all left once their contracts expired, while Fashion Sakala and Glen Kamara were both sold.
Signing that many players likely meant some settling in would be required, yet with Christmas fast approaching, it looks as though a few are not cut out to succeed at the Light Blues.
Sam Lammers has scored just once across 18 appearances so far and given he had netted a grand total of six goals since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, it was a slightly strange signing by Beale in the first place.
Cyriel Dessers is another player who looks out of sorts and not good enough to be leading the line at the Gers. Rangers Review journalist Jonny McFarlane even dubbed him a “terrible signing” following his woeful display against Sparta Prague.
Against the Czech side, he completed just six passes during his spell on the pitch, while losing possession 11 times and taking zero shots, hardly a performance that merits further inclusion in the starting XI.
These two ill-fated signings may not have long left to impress at Rangers, especially with a new regime arriving, but one player who did arrive in the summer has the potential to become one of the club’s key players is Jose Cifuentes.
Why Jose Cifuentes could turn into a bargain signing
During the summer, Beale was heavily invested in bringing Cifuentes to Glasgow, and with his contract due to expire at Los Angeles FC in December, the 43-year-old was trying to secure him on a knockdown price before the Premiership season began, otherwise, they would have had to wait until next year.
With just under a month left of the summer transfer window, Beale eventually signed the midfielder and he cost just £1.2m and given what he had achieved in the MLS, it could turn into a bargain deal.
During the 2022 season, Cifuentes helped lead LAFC to the MLS title. Across 36 regular season games, he registered 13 goal contributions – seven goals and six assists – while creating 11 big chances and averaging 1.3 key passes per game.
This indicated that he liked to burst forward as often as possible from the heart of the midfield in order to create opportunities for his teammates, while getting on the scoresheet when possible.
Although he had registered just four goal contributions across 19 games during the 2023 season before moving to Glasgow, the Ecuadorian is still improving, and if given time, he could end up being one of Beale’s finest signings.
Cifuentes’ value has soared since arriving at Rangers
According to Football Transfers, Cifuentes is now currently valued at €3.7m (£3.2m) and this represents a wonderful 167% rise since joining in August if he manages to secure regular game time under Clement, that valuation could increase further.
The 5 foot 8 machine has missed the previous few games due to suffering a knock on international duty with Ecuador and has yet to make an appearance under the Belgian.
Once he is back to full fitness, the 24-year-old could be slotted straight into the heart of the midfield in order to showcase his talents for the new head coach.
Cifuentes could still improve after an underwhelming start
The former LAFC midfielder has started ten times for the Ibrox side, yet he has registered just one assist thus far. Of course, settling into a new environment and way of life across the Atlantic will take some time, while he seemingly did not benefit from Beale’s tactical system, or lack thereof, as shown by his statistics.
Clement has already developed a style of play in which he expects his players to deliver during matches, with two wide players providing the width and midfield players bursting through the middle to provide attacking support, and this sort of stability could only benefit Cifuentes, especially with his below-par start to life at the club.
Lauded as “very dynamic” by LAFC assistant manager Marc Dos Santos, he currently ranks seventh for accurate passes per game (51.3) across the Ibrox squad in the league, while also ranking within the top ten for key passes per game (0.8) and 16th for successful dribbles per game (0.3), failing to build upon his previous two excellent campaigns in America.
Over time, the midfielder could adapt to Scottish football and begin to assert his dominance across the midfield area, especially as Clement looks to have a clear tactical philosophy that could turn the club into winners, given that the manager has won four league titles in his career.
There is no question that the Gers have struck gold on the former LAFC star, especially considering his value has increased substantially since joining just a few months ago and this could keep on rising depending on how well he does when he returns from injury.
Beale did spend vast sums of money on a few players who have lacked the required standard to shine at Rangers, most notably Lammers and Dessers, yet shelling out just £1.2m to lure Cifuentes to Scotland instead of waiting an extra few months could benefit the club a few years down the line.
