The word on the fire this morning is Ecuador and Rangers midfielder José Adoni Cifuentes Charcopa is extremely reluctant to trade Glasgow for Rize amid interest from the Süper Lig and Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü, and we can’t say we blame him at all.
Rangers accepted a loan offer from the Turkish side in the past 48 hours, with what we understand is an option to buy for £2M in the summer, but the former LAFC star apparently isn’t too enthused by that league and may well stick it out at Rangers.
Indeed, not too many players go to Turkey and thrive there, especially those seeking ‘a new challenge’ after a slow period in their career. Some do, absolutely, but if we look at the obstacles faced by Ryan Kent, that precedent alone for Rangers players is worth noting.
In fairness to Rizespor they’re a decent side, 5th in the table, four spots behind Kent’s Fenerbahçe who sit on top, and so Cify wouldn’t be going to a bad team, but the Turkish league wasn’t for the former Rangers winger and we doubt Cifu would like it much more.
If Cifu struggled with the pressure of Rangers, the toxic hostile hotbed of Turkish football might not appeal too significantly to him either.
We’ll if he changes his mind over the next few days.