Rangers continue to chase new signings and may now raid Bayer Leverkusen with a loan move for midfielder Gustavo Puerta.
The Gers have enjoyed a rather busy summer transfer window as Philippe Clement retools his Ibrox squad.
Young signings were the focus earlier in the summer as Jefte, Oscar Cortes, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron and Hamza Igamane all signed on for Rangers.
Clement and Nils Koppen have started adding a little more experience though with Liam Kelly, Vaclav Cerny and Robin Propper arriving.
Propper has arrived as a real leader having captained FC Twente and Rangers may now go and sign another young talent this summer.
Rangers want Gustavo Puerta
Rangers have been linked with experienced midfielders of late.
Kenny McLean has played down a Rangers move but free agent John Fleck has left the door open for a potential return.
Rangers may look at the other end of the age scale though with Bayer Leverkusen’s Gustavo Puerta wanted.
Danish newspaper Tipsbladet report that Rangers are battling Brondby in the race to sign Puerta.
Anderlecht, PAOK and Blackburn Rovers are keen too, alongside other Bundesliga clubs.
A loan with option to buy of around €6million (£5.1million) is mentioned with Puerta looking for first-team action.
Rangers may well pounce for Puerta, so let’s dig into the midfielder and look at his career to date…
Who is Rangers target Puerta?
Puerta broke through with Bogota in his native Colombia, bagging three goals in 35 games as a youngster.
Puerta captained Colombia’s Under-20’s at the South American Under-20 Championship in 2023 and earned himself a move in the process.
The diminutive midfielder, standing at just 5ft 7in tall, caught the attention of Bayer Leverkusen and made the move late in January.
Bayer sent Puerta straight out on loan to Nurnberg, but he failed to make a single first-team appearance for the club.
Puerta was involved with Bayer last term but played just 41 minutes of Bundesliga action across seven substitute appearances.
Now 21, Puerta needs first-team action and Rangers may well provide that opportunity.
“We’re still waiting to see what happens with Gustavo. A loan could also be an option for him,” said Bayer Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes whilst speaking to Kicker in June. “But he can play as a six, eight and ten,” he added.
Puerta is a versatile midfield player and has been praised by boss Xabi Alonso despite his lack of first-team action.
“Gustavo Puerta made a big step forward last year. He is very calm on the ball, finds creative solutions even under pressure, is strong in tackling and is technically very skilled. What particularly characterises him is his motivation to improve every day,” said Alonso, as quoted by RCN Noticias.
“He works with great concentration in training and has great charisma in his desire to constantly improve. Gustavo is a player you can always rely on, when you need him, he is there. He is currently having a fantastic development towards becoming a top-level player,” he added.
Puerta may need to leave Leverkusen in order to fulfil that potential though and Rangers could offer him that opportunity with a move to Glasgow.
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