£15M-rated Jose Cifuentes has bid his LAFC teammates farewell as Rangers finalise the midfielder’s move from the MLS to Ibrox, as the 24-year-old prepares to challenge himself in Europe for the first time.

The Ecuador international, who heavily featured in Qatar last year, is to be the latest piece in Michael Beale’s Rangers jigsaw as the manager builds his own team and squad for a proper assault on the Scottish Premiership next season, with one eye also on a Champions League-ready side too.

Cifuentes is officially out of contract this December but Rangers will secure him for a nominal fee early, and the engine room man, who models himself on former Manchester United and Juventus France superstar Paul Pogba, will finalise his Ibrox move this week.

He’s widely regarded as one of the strongest performers in the MLS and it’s seen as a big coup for Rangers to get one of the North American football league’s most coveted assets.

Furthermore, to confirm it further, Cifuentes heavily ‘liked’ all the Rangers fans who responded to his farewell Instagram which can only point to the Ecuadorian coming to Ibrox within the week.

It’s a big addition for Rangers, a really top midfield signing, and it more or less completes Michael Beale’s options – Cifuntes, Raskin, Cantwell, Lundstram and Jack.

The first three are most definitely what we require going forward, the latter two will be squad options – Rangers are lining up Glen Kamara’s sale as soon as possible, with a host of sides in for him.

More on that later.

But for now, it’s only a matter of time before Jose Cifuentes is an announced as a Rangers player, and Rangers have beaten off some significant competition from the English Premier League to secure the player.

It’s definitely a strong signing and the right direction for what the club needs.