It all seemed to be going well for Rangers and Gullit Peña last week.
The Pedro Caixinha had flown in to have a medical ahead of his move to Ibrox Stadium, which he passed with flying colours, and his international teammate Eduardo Herrera was reportedly also close to agreeing a deal with the Scottish Premiership side.
However, as tends to be the case with moves from non-EU countries, it appears there has been a bit of a problem when it comes to the players’ work permits.
According to both Excelsior and Univision in Mexico, the moves to Rangers are now in doubt as neither of the player’s have played in 75% of their national team’s games over the past two years, which, they believe, is a requirement by the Scottish FA before handing out the work permit.
Excelsior say both players now have to wait a few days to see if there’s any way to get around that requirement, and Univision state that could happen if Rangers convince a panel of former footballers that Peña and Eduardo Herrera will ‘contribute to the growth of Scottish football’.
If that’s what Rangers are going for, then they might have a point, as these signings could push a few Mexico fans to take an interest in how their players are doing at Ibrox, were they to sign.
That, and it would certainly help them be more competitive as they try and bridge the gap between themselves and rivals Celtic, even if there is a long way to go.
UK work permit rules for footballers changed in recent years, and now transfer fee as well as wages plays a part, meaning Rangers don’t have to solely rely on international appearances.
