Rangers fans have just been stunned by the news that the club have pulled out of the running for Jose Cordoba.
The Panamanian centre-back, 22, looked nailed on to join Rangers only yesterday evening before news of Norwich City stealing a march broke in France.
As Ibrox fans digested the news – Jose Cordoba was reportedly set to jet in for a medical this week – news broke that Rangers had officially ended their interest.
In what is a major blow to Nils Koppen and co given the high-profile nature of the transfer pursuit, the club have reportedly wasted no time in moving on to another target.
Chile defender a Rangers transfer target
Rangers director of recruitment Nils Koppen came into the club with the explicit intention of casting our scouting net far and wide.
Looking for player trading gems, the Rangers mission is to strike cost-effective deals for young talents before developing them and selling them on for profit.
With Panamanian defender Jose Cordoba turning out for Levski Sofia in Bulgaria in recent seasons, a £2m rising to £3.2m deal looked to have been shrewd business.
But after the deal collapsed Rangers have now turned their attentions to the Argentine Primera Division and namely Thomas Galdames.
The Godoy Cruz star is a left-sided defender, like Jose Cordoba, and the 25-year-old Chilean looks to be the club’s second choice defensive target.
Galdames has been linked to Rangers and ‘teams in Belgium’ by journalist Gonzalo Conti, who is the editor of Argentine publication MDZ online.
Out of contract in December, Rangers could negotiate a cut-price deal for Thomas Galdames and perhaps save the millions that was about to spent on Jose Cordoba.
Translated into English, the post reads: “Tomás Conechny’s departure from #GodoyCruz would be joined by that of the Chilean Thomas Galdames, who has offers from abroad. Scottish Rangers and other Belgian teams would be interested. He has a contract until December but the pass is his. Maybe money will come into Tomba.”
Who is Thomas Galdames?
Rangers fans are unlikely to be familiar with Thomas Galdames.
The Chilean defender has spent his career between his homeland and Argentina.
Starting out at Union Española, Galdames has been with Godoy Cruz since January 2023.
Earning his first call-up to the Chile national team last September, the 25-year-old is yet to make an appearance for his country but it’s fair to say he’s on the brink.
A left full-back by trade, Galdames has played at centre-back and perhaps this is where Rangers see him developing.
Either that, or the club are reinforcing what’s been a troublesome position in recent seasons.
Rangers have an increasing number of Latin American players in their squad with the region clearly being targeted by the Gers’ recruitment team.
Forgetting the very public pursuit of Jose Cordoba, Rangers have Oscar Cortes, Danilo and Jefte in the current dressing room with Jose Cifuentes out on loan.
The Latin presence at the club might help Thomas Galdames settle in Scotland quicker but this potential transfer target is very much an unknown quantity.
