Iron man Jose Cifuentes has been put through the ringer for club and country as he caught a 2,000 mile flight to run out for LAFC in the early hours of this morning - just 24 hours after going the distance with Ecuador.
The midfielder has been subject of serious interest from Rangers with his social media activity a treasure trove of hints that the deal is on. He's liked countless tweets congratulating him on a transfer that is yet to be formally announced and fans are anticipating an announcement now that his international duties are in the rear-view mirror.
Ecuador signed off for the international break with a 3-1 friendly win over Costa Rica in a Philadelphia, with Cifuentes setting up one of the goals. That kicked off at 8pm ET (1am UK time). Given that one didn't finish until around 10pm local time, few expected to see Cifuentes in the LAFC squad for a game that kicked off just 24 hours later - especially considering the six-hour flight it takes to travel the 2,500 miles from Philadelphia Airport to LAX.
But transfer sleuths with an eye on that game were left stunned when he was named on the bench and subbed on for the final 20 minutes. LA won 1-0 to go top of MLS' Western Conference and Cifuentes even had a late goal ruled out as he made his presence felt off the bench.
It's worth noting the win over Seattle was the 24th game Cifuentes has been involved in since March and if he keeps that rate up for the calendar year then he will be rivalling Joe Aribo's incredible 70-game run during Rangers' marathon 2021/22 season.
But despite his involvement for LA, Record Sport understands Gers chiefs are hoping to apply the finishing touches on the deal in the days ahead now his international commitments are out of the way and it may be telling whether he is involved against Vancouver this Saturday (Sunday morning in the UK) or FC Dallas a week later.
