Rangers are believed to be one of the clubs going into the summer transfer window with the Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes on their radar.
Who is Jose Cifuentes?
Michael Beale's arrival at Ibrox was seemingly too late to change Rangers' fate in the race for the Scottish title with their city rivals looking set to retain the crown.
However, attention is seemingly already turning onto the summer transfer window as they look to close the gap to the league leaders ahead of the new campaign.
And one player who has seemingly caught their attention is the Los Angeles FC midfielder Cifuentes who has been playing his football in the United States for just over three years now.
The 24-year-old was included in Ecuador's World Cup squad over the winter, however, his game time was minimal as he played just 58 minutes over two substitute appearances (via Transfermarkt).
However, his role in the MLS squad has been much more significant having started three of his six appearances in the earl stages of the new campaign.
And speaking on his Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Gers are one of the sides who are interested in bringing him to Europe over the summer:
(14:30) "Also I wanted to mention Jose Cifuentes. This midfielder playing for LA FC out of contract in December, from what I understand, in the summer, he has a chance to leave because European clubs want him.
"Brighton have been tracking him in the last few months. But also Rangers want him. So keep an eye on Cifuentes."
Would Cifuentes provide Rangers a big upgrade?
The 24-year-old has been hailed as "ridiculous" by Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic and it is clear to see why when he ranks inside the top third percentile for successful take-ons (via FBref).
Cifuentes also has provided LA FC with an average of 7.78 progressive passes per game which has him ranked inside the top 10th percentile.
However, Rangers may find it difficult to land the £5.6k-per-week ace with a reported interest coming from the Premier League ahead of the summer.
The interest from south of the border could potentially see his price rise over the coming weeks/months and this may leave Rangers with a decision to make.
If the price was to rise significantly it could leave Rangers with a decision to make of whether to go all out for the Ecuadorian or whether to focus their attention elsewhere.
And perhaps the question to be asked is whether the potential signing of Cifuentes would provide them with enough to close the gap on their city rivals.
Given the likely departure of Alfredo Morelos, Beale is expected to have more than one position to address over the summer and, therefore, will have to manage his budget wisely.
