Rangers don’t expect to close a deal for Juan Alegria until post-Brexit regulations on transfers are confirmed.
The Premiership leaders are trailing the Colombian under-17 international and want to sign him on a deal from Finnish side FK Honka.
However Alegria isn’t a full international and doesn’t meet the existing work permit criteria.
Rangers don’t expect that any player in that circumstance will be given a visa or work permit until the UK government’s new regulations are finalised after the end of the transition period which followed the exit from the European Union.
There has been no guideline on the timescale for that so far, though the English Premier League regulations have already been announced.
Alegria, however, is confident his move will still happen.
The 18-year-old striker is already dreaming about following in the footsteps of Radamel Falcao and Duvan Zapata.
Alegria, who is back in Colombia after the Finnish league was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, confirmed: “Together with my family, we are studying and finalising details to transfer me to Rangers - a great team who are the best in Scotland and highly recognised in European football.
“As a striker, I believe to match the achievements of players like Radamel Falcao and Duvan Zapata - players I admire for everything they have done in Europe - I will need to work very hard.
“Someday I would like to talk to them so they can share their experiences of being great scorers both in Europe and in the Colombian national team.
“As a striker, I believe to match the achievements of players like Radamel Falcao and Duvan Zapata - players I admire for everything they have done in Europe - I will need to work very hard.
“Someday I would like to talk to them so they can share their experiences of being great scorers both in Europe and in the Colombian national team.”
