With news the José Cifuentes deal is already agreed upon the expiry of his contract, focus fully shifts on to Danilo. The 24-year-old Brazilian seems to be Michael Beale’s main target for the final piece of the forward line’s restructure. Dutch outlet 1908.nl had posted an article on Thursday suggesting Rangers had bid €6m for the Feyenord striker, however, reports yesterday suggest that this bid was rejected.
Feyenord Reject Rangers Latest Bid
Dutch source ad.nl spoke on the deal and also to Feyenord director Dennis te Kloese. He had this to say on the deal;
Danilo is incredibly important to us. As a player, but also in the development of Igor Paixão, for example, who without Danilo’s presence have never been as far as he is today. In addition, he still has a three-year contract with us.
Dennis te Kloese to ad.nl
He also insisted that he only wanted ‘serious bids’ for any potential outgoing players. Apparently he didn’t consider Rangers €6m offer to be serious enough.
The difficulty with this one lies in Santiago Gimenez. He’s clearly first choice at Feyenord but is also suspended for the opening two Champions League ties. By the day, it’s becoming clearer that Feyenord won’t sell until they have a replacement for Danilo.
Danilo’s Replacement?
Reports from Holland have suggested that Feyenord are targeting Cercle Brugge forward Ayase Ueda as their Danilo replacement.
The 24-year-old Japan international scored 22 goals and had 2 assists in 40 Pro League matches last season. As the tweet above suggests, the Belgian club are looking for at least €10m for their star man. Feyenord have brought in around £25m already this summer, mostly through the sale of Orkun Kokcu. This means they don’t need to wait for the Danilo sale to bring in another striker and will, potentially, wait until they bring him in before releasing the Brazilian.
Rangers Next Move
Despite all the reports in the Dutch media and Keith Jackson claiming the deal is on the ‘verge of collapse’ sources closer to the club claim otherwise;
Heart and Hand combining with Jonny McFarlane from the Rangers Review here to give Rangers fans the news they wanted. The fact that Danilo was name dropped by the manager is a good sign. He’s clearly the number one forward target currently.
Despite Beale’s claims of talking to other players, there’s a reason this one got out. This one may well drag on but going by what’s said here, the parties close to the club seem confident in it.
If Danilo is the man that Beale wants, I’m sure the board will make it happen.
Conclusion
This isn’t a transfer that will be done next week. The move all seems dependant on who Feyenord can bring in. If they move quickly and get a replacement it could pick up pace. At this point though, it’s a waiting game.
Do you think Danilo will be worth the wait? Do you think he’ll be worth the potential €7m+ fee? Or do you think Rangers should move on to another target?
Read more about what he can offer Rangers here.