Carlos Pena is returning to Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers after his latest loan was terminated.
Pedro Caixinha has told The Record he is confident that Carlos Pena can still be a success story at Rangers.
The former Rangers boss, sacked by the Ibrox club last October, spent a hefty £2.8 million on bringing the Mexico international to Glasgow, but he is one of the biggest flops in recent memory.
The 28-year-old playmaker managed five goals in 14 appearances for the Gers last season, before being loaned to Cruz Azul – then managed by Caixinha – in January but he was sacked within months of arriving.
Pena, who endured a series of off-the-field issues with Cruz, is now due to return to Ibrox after having his loan terminated by Nexaca earlier this week.
Succeeding at Rangers under Steven Gerrard now seems a very long shot, but the Portuguese manager is confident that it’s not impossible.
“I hope that when Carlos goes back to Scotland, he can recover his career. He is still not yet 30 and has plenty of time to still have a great career,” he told The Record.
“Carlos has tremendous football potential and he’s a great person. He deserves better and if he asks me for any advice about going back to Rangers I will happily give him some.
“It hurts me to see him in this position because I had the opportunity to bring him to Rangers and then Cruz Azul so I gave him two opportunities. I think there were two difficult moments with him – the first came when he went to Scotland where he had to leave his comfort zone.”
Maybe Gerrard should give him a few games to gauge his talent. After all, this is a player with 19 caps for Mexico, a player who could potentially play a big role in Rangers’ season.
Stranger things have happened and it seems silly to exile Pena without at least giving him a chance to prove a point.
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