Rangers target Juan Diego Alegria has spoken for the first time since stories emerged that the Colombian youth international was the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a move to Rangers.
In what is sure to be good news for fans of the Light Blues, the deal appears to be close to fruition with the player backing up earlier reports that it was almost a formality.
The 18-year old set out his plans for the future and his career goals when discussing the move as reported by The Scottish Sun:
“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.
“Since I started playing football, I have only been able to do this with the support of my parents. They have given me a lot of love and passion.
“So every day I fight for them. They instilled in me the value of humility.
“They taught me that if you are humble in your life, you will prosper.
“I got a move to Finland because I was called up for the Colombian Under 17s team for a tournament in Chile and managed to score a few goals for them. Those goals I scored helped get me a move to Europe.
“When I moved to FC Honka, they gave me my debut. Thank God I managed to sign for such a club where they gave me a lot of minutes to play.
“But I am well aware that I must continue working and learning because football can change on a daily basis.”
It is easy to draw comparisons with Alfredo Morelos, not only the path he has taken in his career, but the obvious love and dedication he has for his family as well as a rare level of humility for one so young, something El Bufalo continues to demonstrate with his endless charity work in his homeland.
We have only seen the obligatory social media clips of Alegria so far but they look – as they always do – encouraging, this is the transfer policy we have been screaming out for for years, an extensive scouting department unearthing gems to be sold at a fortune further down the line, hopefully winning a few trophies along the way, of course.