Jose Cifuentes set for shock Rangers transfer exit as Turkish troops tee up £2m summer fee shot

Rangers are about to offload midfield misfit Jose Cifuentes after accepting a bid from Turkish club Rizespor.

The Ibrox club will let the Ecuador international leave in this window, with other clubs in Europe and South America also keen on the 24-year-old. Cifuentes is on the verge of securing a loan deal, with Rizespor having the option to buy him for a fee of around £2million in the summer.

He only arrived at Ibrox in August for £1.2 million as one of ex-boss Michael Beale's blue chip signings from MLS outfit Los Angeles FC. But Cifuentes has been a bit-part player, managing just 20 appearances in all competitions this term so far. And now gaffer Philippe Clement is set to let him go as he bids to strengthen his squad in the January window by adding Brazilian left-back Jefte to his ranks.

He looks certain to arrive from Fluminense with Rangers close to getting a deal over the line. He's currently on loan at Cypriot outfit APOEL but was left out of their squad for a 4-0 win over Nea Salamis on Friday night.

The 20-year-old looks certain to become Philippe Clement's third signing of the January transfer window on a three-and-a-half year deal, following Fabio Silva from Wolves and Mohamed Diomande from FC Nordsjaelland. But Jefte's arrival might NOT mean a January exit for Turkish left-back Ridvan Yilmaz.

Reports in Turkey last night claimed that Galatasaray have made a fresh bid for the 22-year-old after having a previous offer rejected by Gers. But Record Sport understands no fresh bids have been received for Yilmaz, who started yesterday's 1-0 Premiership win over St Mirren.

After the victory in Paisley, Clement stayed tight-lipped on bringing Jefte to Ibrox, as well as Rangers' efforts to sign another striker. Cyriel