Rangers transfer news bulletin as Oscar Cortes Ibrox origin story revealed while Morelos gets Euro return offer
The Colombian's representatives hope he is just the first of many Latin American imports after joining Gers from Lens.
The conversation that kicked-off off Oscar Cortes' Rangers transfer happened at networking event in Lisbon.
The Colombian has joined the Ibrox side on an initial loan until the end of the season, but Gers have the option to buy him from the Ligue 1 side with a four-and-a-half-year deal awaiting the winger if he earns it between now and May. But his journey to Glasgow from France was plotted in the Portuguese capital.
HIs representatives. TOP Athlete management are part of the TransferRoom network, and a meeting with Ibrox chiefs at a Lisbon gathering was key to Philippe Clement landing the 20-year-old wide man. TAM's president Topmas Sarmiento believes there's a reluctance to bring in Latin American stars due to not being top level tested. But he's now a big advocate of being able to go straight to club power brokers and allaying any fears, as was the case with Cortes.
He said: “I'd say a lot of people are cautious about introducing Latin American players to the European market as they've not been tested at what you would consider to be the higher echelon,” TOP Athlete Management’s President and Owner, Tomas Sarmiento, said.
“So what these doors let us do is actually talk to those decision makers and let us get into detail about what those doubts might be and how we can clear them up.
“Our main focus is finding the prominent new young talent in Colombia and looking to export them to the most prominent markets here in this side of the world,” Sarmiento says. I think joining TransferRoom as a Trusted Agent is very much to position us in the further thinking of the football market as a whole.
“I believe that TransferRoom represents more of the cutting edge of where the market is evolving to, and it really leads you to sitting with the big boys.”
Meanwhile. Cortes' compatriot Alfredo Morelos could be set for a return to Europe with Samsunspor. The former Rangers striker just signed a new deal at Santos last week, but that was because he had to renegotiate his original £40,000-a-week deal to around half of that after the Brazilian club got relegated last season to the country's second tier for the first time in their 111-year history.
Morelos made his first appearance of the season for Santos at the weekend appearing as a second half substitute. But his time in Brazil has been a major disappointment and he's yet to score in an injury-ravaged spell since arriving in September. Now he could leave and go to Samsunspor, who have made an offer for a loan deal with an option to buy.
The Turkish transfer window remains open until Friday night and it's unlikely cash-strapped Santos would be difficult to deal with after president Marcelo Teixeira complained about the initial contract Morelos was given by the previous regime at the club.
He said: "We could not terminate Alfredo Morelos' contract because it would have cost far too much money, therefore we renegotiated a new one. He is an athlete who earned and still earns very high amounts. He was initially given a very exaggerated contract."
Morelos was consistently linked with a move to Turkey while at Rangers and after he left at the end of last season with Fenerbahce's interest being the strongest. Now he could finally win his move to Europe and join Samsunspor, who were promoted last season and currently sit two points clear of the drop zone in the Turkish Super League.