Rangers have agreed to sign striker Kevin Kelsy from Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers, according to a source familiar with the transfer. The source spoke anonymously because they did not have permission to discuss the agreement publicly. The move is valued at $13m (£9.5m), with the total potentially rising if Kelsy achieves specified performance targets. Portland will also receive a percentage of any future transfer fee.
Portland signed Kelsy from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for $6m last January. Although the 22-year-old Venezuela international has occasionally struggled for consistency, he delivered a strong return of 16 goals across 43 appearances.
Rangers manager Derek McInnes has repeatedly called for another striker before the summer transfer window closes, particularly after Portuguese forward Youssef Chermiti suffered an ACL injury in early August. Portland had not planned to sell Kelsy during this window, but the club-record offer for an outgoing player was too significant to reject. The Timbers have already strengthened their attack by bringing in former Tottenham and Monterrey forward Vincent Janssen, and further business could follow before the deadline.
Portland currently occupy ninth place in the MLS Western Conference, narrowly holding the final playoff play-in position. The club also changed managers earlier in the campaign, dismissing Phil Neville during the World Cup break before appointing former Leicester City and QPR coach Martí Cifuentes in July.
Rangers sit ninth in the Scottish Premiership following a difficult start to the campaign. They have failed to win either of their first two league matches and dropped into the Uefa Conference League after losing their Europa League qualifying tie against Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok. With the team struggling in attack, McInnes has pressed for additional signings after already recruiting former Girona winger Kim Min-su and Japanese wide player Daisuke Yokota earlier in the summer.
Kelsy is expected to travel to Glasgow this week to complete the transfer and undergo a medical examination. He will officially join Rangers once his visa has been approved. However, he is not expected to be available for Sunday’s match against eighth-placed Aberdeen.
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