Rangers transfer 'target' is 'unrecognisable' after Ibrox move collapse as star lands blistering reviews

He was a prominent Rangers target before a move collapsed - but Jefte's return to APOEL Nicosia action hasn't gone down a storm.

The Brazilian left-back looked set to complete a move to Ibrox from Fluminense in his homeland, who he is out on loan in Cyprus from. But a move collapsed amid reports he had gone AWOL amid the rumours.

A summer move for the 20-year-old could still bring him to the Premiership but his recent outing for APOEL - drawing 0-0 with Anorthosis - has drawn fierce criticism of the star's performance. Ridvan Yilmaz and Borna Barisic are Rangers' current left-back options.

Cypriot media site Shoot and Goal held nothing back on his performances, with reference to his Rangers transfer talks. They wrote: "Jefte has been unrecognisable for the last month.

"The Brazilian full-back is no relation to the player who sparked Rangers' strong interest towards the end of the January transfer window. Jefte has to raise his performance a lot to reach his known levels."

Goal meanwhile had a headline that bluntly read 'we have never seen Jefte so bad.' They added: "We never saw the truth again. The issue is that Anorthosis failed to take advantage of the out-of-place and out-of-time Brazilian full-back."

Overall, Jefte has been an impressive performer this term for APOEL but his performances since the Rangers speculation do not appear to have impressed those in Cyprus. He has played 25 times this term with three goals and four assists in the league, with APOEL in first place and gunning for the league title