A claim has emerged regarding Glasgow Rangers' interest in bringing a Brazilian player to Ibrox in the summer transfer window...
What's the talk?
ESPN journalist Gustavo Hofman has relayed news of Midtjylland star Evander confirming that the Light Blues have looked at him, with his club being willing to cash in on him before the deadline.
Hofman tweeted: "Transfer news: Evander, at Futebol no Mundo podcast, confirmed today that he has an agreement with Midtjylland to be transferred till the end of this transfer window. No negotiations anymore with Galatasaray; Rangers and Copenhagen also demonstrated interest, he said."
Football Scotland followed up on the player's claim by stating that he is a player in whom the Gers are interested, although the potential fee may be prohibitive.
Gio van Bronckhorst's next Joe Aribo
The Rangers head coach could find his next Joe Aribo for the Scottish giants by snapping up a deal to sign Evander this summer.
Aribo left Ibrox to join Southampton last month after enjoying a superb 2021/22 campaign with the Gers as an attacking midfielder.
The Nigerian produced eight goals and five assists in 31 Premiership starts, creating nine 'big chances' overall and making 1.8 key passes per game. He also caught the eye in the Europa League as he racked up one goal and three assists - along with creating seven 'big chances' - in 13 starts, playing as a central midfielder or number 10.
In Evander, Rangers can now find their next version of the Saints dynamo, as the Midtjylland maestro is a gem with the versatility to play in multiple midfield roles and has shown that he has the quality to make a big impact in the final third.
The £7.3k-per-week 24-year-old produced 12 goals and six assists in the Danish Superliga in 2021/22 as he created a whopping 12 'big chances' overall and made 2.5 key passes per game. This suggests that he was let down by his team-mates, as they did not have the quality to make the most of his creativity.
Evander, who has been dubbed an "interesting" talent by scout Jacek Kulig, was also impressive in the Europa League as he created 3.2 key passes per game in six matches, compared to Aribo's 1.5 per match in the competition.
The Midtjylland gem could therefore be an upgrade on the Nigerian, as he has shown that he has the potential to offer more than Aribo in terms of goals and creativity in the final third, particularly for the the latter metric in Europe.
At the age of 24, he is also at a similar point in his career as Aribo (who is now 26) was at Rangers, which means that - like the now-Southampton man - Evander could make a similar journey at Ibrox by coming to Scotland to develop his skills.