When news broke that Nils Koppen would be exploring the South American market for prospective Rangers signings, the name Jhon Arias turned heads.
The Fluminense winger, 26, is a Copa Libertadores winner with the Brazilian side and a Colombian international who is courting quite a bit of interest in Europe.
Rangers links, of which there have been a few, always seemed at best ambitious and at worst a tad deluded.
And those sentiments are set to be carried forward into the summer transfer window as reports coming from Jhon Arias’s homeland suggest the winger is set for bigger and better things than Scottish football.
Arias to ‘reject’ Rangers
According to Canal RCN, Jhon Arias is a player in demand across Europe this summer.
Several high profile sides have been mentioned as suitors, but the biggest of the lot includes Atletico Madrid.
Claiming that Diego Simeone’s team will do ‘everything possible’ to land the winger, Arias also has would-be interest from a fifth of the Premier League.
Wolves, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Burnley are all mentioned and the suggestion is that the Colombian international hopes to land a spot at a ‘much more prestigious and competitive league’.
It comes with Rangers reportedly interested in the winger with the report claiming Jhon Arias is ready to ‘reject’ any approach from Ibrox.
The report claims that Arias is also not interested in a move to Russian football with Zenit St Petersburg, a side for whom he has already rejected a transfer.
Galatasaray – the winger’s latest suitors – are also said to be a no-go.
Not that a move ever seemed likely anyway.
The report claims Fluminense would be willing to do business at €12m (£10.3m) but with a bidding war impending, the figure is likely to rise to €20m (£17.2m).
South America Rangers transfer search continues
Whilst it’s nice to see Rangers get linked to exciting talents like Jhon Arias, these kind of stories never feel realistic.
That’s not to say we don’t have our fingers in a few pies in Latin America.
In fact, Nils Koppen’s links to FC Millonarios in Colombia led to the loan signing of Oscar Cortes with the club locked in discussions to extend a deal for the RC Lens winger into this season.
The likes of Ecuadorean midfielder Oscar Zambrano and Argentine winger Luca Langoni have also been mentioned in the press.
Panamanian centre-back Jose Cordoba – who currently plays in Bulgaria – has also been extensively linked.
It’s an exciting time for the Rangers recruitment team who are now casting their net further and wider than ever before in the hunt for talent.
But as far as Jhon Arias goes, Rangers aren’t spending £10.3m let alone £17.2m on any one player this summer so let’s just rule this story out at source.
