Rangers are locked in to buy Oscar Cortes despite his injury issues, but Clement believes he’ll come good.
Rangers are committed to completing their £4.5 million signing of Oscar Cortes this summer, according to the fine print. Despite his poor injury record, Ibrox manager Philippe Clement feels the winger can still make a significant effect at the club.
The Gers manager had great hopes for the highly rated Colombian talent when he first brought him to Glasgow a year ago. However, since his loan move from Lens, Cortes has suffered a series of setbacks. Initially signed on a six-month contract with the potential of making it permanent, he looked promising when he scored his first goal against Hearts in only his third Rangers appearance. But his promising progress was cut short just four days later when Cortes sustained a season-ending knee injury at Kilmarnock.
That didn’t stop Clement and recruitment head Nils Koppen from renewing the wideman’s loan agreement over the summer, this time with an OBLIGATION to buy at a cost of £4.5 million. He returned to the Belgian team for pre-season, but was shortly back in the treatment room after tearing his hamstring at Tynecastle on the first day of the new season.
A brief return in September was short-lived, and his latest return has been equally disappointingly brief, with Clement stating the South American is now on his way to consult a specialist – with no news on when he will be available. Coughing up a seven-figure sum for a player who made only 15 appearances – seven of which were starts – in a year is hardly the type of transfer the Ibrox faithful were hoping for after hearing new CEO Patrick Stewart this week talk about the need to achieve greater value for money from the transfer market.
But Clement is certain that the decision will work out in the end, dismissing any suggestions of buyer regret. The Rangers manager, who is also awaiting word on striker Danilo’s shoulder injury sustained during Wednesday’s win against Aberdeen, stated: “Today with specialists. I’m not an expert in these areas. We need to hear their assessment first. I hope this is only temporary.
“It would have been fantastic for Oscar to get minutes over the weekend. In addition, the Scottish Cup will be played on Sunday versus Fraserburgh. However, it is an integral aspect of football. It is unlucky. Football is a sport that features duels. He is a powerful boy. He has strong legs. However, you will occasionally face adversity.
“He’s had a lot of poor luck in the past few months. It’s disappointing for him because he has a positive attitude and is eager to work. Who is determined to take the appropriate steps and demonstrated good quality in his first few weeks here. Sometimes you have horrible luck. And I hope this is the last bad luck he has in his career.”
When asked if he was still certain Cortes could justify the decision to sign him permanently, Clement replied, “Yes, since the injuries he suffered subsequently had nothing to do with the injuries he sustained last season. So these are decisions made by everyone in the club. He has the ability to do it.
“So his physical state will be in a good way. He needs rhythm for that. He needs training for that. We all know that he has the football qualities. He has the right mentality. He has the right vision also, the overview in the final third. What is very important to have is composure. He showed all of that. So I don’t see any reason why he would not make a good career here at Rangers.”
Clement – who is waiting to see if Robin Propper and Jack Butland come through training today before deciding if they will feature against Sunday’s Highland League opponents in their Cup opener – may be counting on Cortes for the future, but it looks far from certain that the likes of Rabbi Matondo, Kieran Dowell and Cyriel Dessers will around for too long.
Matondo and Dowell have been told to find new clubs while Dessers admits he may need to move on having lost his place to Moroccan wonderkid Hamza Igamane. Quizzed on the trio’s situation, he said: “I never speak about individual cases and names in that way.
“It’s always in the transfer window. It’s about the right price for every player. It needs to be a win-win for everybody. We will see what’s going to happen next week. [Moving players on] is something that will be necessary for the club, yes.
“That’s a club decision. Like it was with the same decisions in the summer. I know everything that’s going on. But I don’t have a clue if there will be something signed fast or not. The first second that we sign something, we will tell you all. That I can promise.”
On Dessers, he added: “I spoke with Cyriel about why he played less than before, yes. And that’s because of the evolution of Hamza also. So we will see what happens. Cyriel is working really hard. He’s doing everything. He’s good in the group. He’s a very good lad. He’s thinking very collectively always.
“He’s in support of Hamza. He gave Hamza a lot of tips last couple of months also in the trainings and around games. And he showed that also. Now in the last game, the way he came in, you don’t see a player who’s disappointed that he’s not starting.
“Although he started a lot of games before. And scored also a lot of goals. He’s somebody who’s there for the team. Is there a moment that he wants to play all the games? Then he needs to make a decision. If it’s not the case, he’s in competition with others. That’s freeing him to talk.”
Meanwhile, external experts called in by new CEO Patrick Stewart to run the rule over the stumbling Ibrox football operation got to work this week – and Clement is fully behind the study. He said: “I will be one of the people that talk with the people coming in to make the review. We did a kind of similar thing with another company last season to change things.
“It’s an important thing to do. To have a view from outside also. And to speak with them about the ideas that they have, the ideas we have to make things better. it’s a company that did several clubs all over Europe. So it’s a good way also to compare things. Patrick is in now and we can make real changes.
