Two transfer targets, two very different deals, and two very different Rangers stories.
While Jefte Vital took five months to arrive at Ibrox – Philippe Clement‘s side initially agreed terms back in January but had to wait until the summer with the left-back on loan at APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus – the club’s third signing of the summer window has been a bolt straight out of a Rangers shade of blue.
In stark contrast to the Jefte saga, which rumbled on for half of 2024, Rangers have moved swifty, decisively and discretely to bring another left-footed defender to Ibrox.
Clinton Nsiala had not even been mentioned as a target until reporter Sacha Tavolieri took to social media on Monday afternoon to say that the AC Milan youngster was on his way to Glasgow.
“Rangers now set to sign AC Milan’s huge talent, Clinton Nsiala,” Tavolieri writes on X. “An agreement on personal terms on the basis of a long-term contract has been reached.
“Medical tests to take place by the end of the week.”
Rangers set to seal deal for AC Milan’s Clinton Nsiala
Nsiala, only 20 years of age and very much a Nils Koppen-era sort of signing, said his goodbyes to the Serie A giants later that very same day. His contract expires in the summer, and Rangers have reportedly fought off competition from clubs in France and Germany to snap up the talented Frenchman on a free transfer.
“It’s time to say goodbye to this team,” Nsiala writes on Instagram, having only featured once in Serie A. “I’m (leaving) after three years of personal and professional growth. A team that became family and took me as a child and now leaves me as a man.
“A team and a coach who believed in me until the end. Speaking of coaching, (Milan’s U19 coach) Ignazio Abate if I am what I am today besides my feet and hard work, it’s all because of you who have always believed in me and continue to do so.
“Proud to wear the AC Milan shirt. Thank you for the support. Thank you to AC Milan. The journey continues.”
The journey contininues, it seems, at Rangers.
What about Thomas Galdames?
But what does this mean for the club’s pursuit of another defensive southpaw? If you had told Rangers supporters on Sunday that they would be closing in on a deal for a new centre-half 24 hours later, they’d have presumed you were talking about Thomas Galdames.
Rangers turned their attention to the tough-tackling Godoy Cruz ace after top target Jose Cordoba opted to pursue a £3 million move to Norwich City instead. So why the sudden move for Nsiala? Do Rangers feel that he, five years younger and with a background at one of Europe’s bonafide superclubs, has a higher ceiling?
Do Rangers maybe feel that Nsiala is a more natural centre-half option? Galdames, while preferring to play in the middle, has spent much of his time at Godoy Cruz as a left-back? Or are Rangers instead merely placing Galdames on the backburner for now, a deal to be revisited once his contract runs out in December?
With Galdames proving to be a hit at full-back of late, perhaps there is still a chance that he and Nsiala could be team-mates at Ibrox later down the line. Then again, having already brought in Jefte, it seems unlikely that Rangers will look to bring in Galdames as a left-back unless Ridvan Yilmaz follows Borna Barisic out the door.
But, despite continued speculation regarding a return to Turkey, Yilmaz’s agent said this week that there are currently no plans to seek a Super Lig homecoming.
“Ridvan’s career plan is to continue in Europe,” Necdet Ergezen tells reporter Gokmen Ozcan. “There is no plan to return to the Super League in the near and medium term.”
For now, while Rangers finally have some clarity about the identity of their next centre-back signing, the waters look a little murker as far as Thomas Galdames’ own Ibrox switch is concerned.
