THE biggest signing of the summer could become the biggest departure of the January window. Opinions will be split on whether Bruno Alves is the biggest disappointment of the campaign for Rangers.

The Portuguese was the first man through the door as Pedro Caixinha kicked off his Ibrox rebuilding job. The fanfare that greeted his arrival has long since dissipated, however.

After just half a season and 18 appearances in Light Blue, Rangers fans may already have seen the last of Alves as he considers his options and ponders his future.

It was seen as a statement of intent when Caixinha was able to lure his compatriot to Glasgow in the summer but a series of injuries and inconsistent spells of form have meant the defender has never been able to hit the heights that were expected of him for a prolonged period.

Alves was seen as the commanding, no-nonsense centre-half that Rangers have lacked for some time, an experienced stopper who led by example on the park and a man who could inspire his team-mates off it.

His stunning free-kick in his first match at Ibrox only served to raise expectation levels that little bit further but it says it all about how Alves has fared this term that a goal against Dunfermline goes down as one of the highlights of his campaign.

While Caixinha’s side were being humiliated by Progres Niederkorn and dumped from the Europa League at the first hurdle, Alves was on Confederations Cup duty with Portugal. They are not the only big games that the 36-year-old has missed, though, and of the 27 matches Rangers have played this term, Alves has appeared in under two thirds of them.

A knock sustained in the League Cup win over Partick Thistle ruled him out of the first Old Firm clash of the season as youngster Ross McCrorie made the most of his chance to impress.

He was also unavailable for the trip to Pittodrie last month, with David Bates the beneficiary on that occasion he turned in an accomplished performance and Graeme Murty guided his side to a crucial Premiership win.

In what could prove to be his farewell outing, Alves could only last just 18 minutes at Parkhead in the final game before the winter shutdown. As he hobbled off, clearly in some discomfort after suffering a calf injury, there would have been more than a few in Light Blue who suspected that would be the last time he would pull on his boots for Rangers.

Just seven months after putting pen-to-paper on a two-year deal, Alves now has a decision to make. Does he stay or go? Does he stick or twist?

Benevento are interested in taking him back to Serie A and Rangers are unlikely to stand in his way if he feels that move is the one he wants to make before the end of the transfer window. A player with his track record across Europe and at international level won’t be short of suitors, though.

Murty has always spoken positively about Alves and his professionalism but the signing of Russell Martin had the look of a pre-emptive strike about it as the Scotland defender completed a switch from Norwich until the end of the campaign.

With Danny Wilson back in form and Bates eager to impress, there seems no requirement for Martin unless Alves or countryman Fabio Cardoso leave in the coming days.

The 23-year-old has found game time hard to come by since Murty replaced Caixinha in the dugout, with a 45 minute cameo at Pittodrie his only competitive outing since he suffered a broken nose in the Betfred Cup defeat to Motherwell.

Cardoso has yet to convince at Ibrox but he is young enough that he could, with the right guidance and coaching, still have improvement in him. A £1.2million signing from Vitoria Setubal in the summer, he has more balance sheet value than Alves as well.

It would be no surprise to see Martin come straight into the starting line-up when Rangers return to action against Aberdeen on Wednesday evening and Wilson will surely get the nod to partner him at the heart of the Gers defence.

The 32-year-old will become a prominent voice in the dressing room and on the field. It is the role Alves was pinpointed for but his season has a feel of what might have been about it so far.

The sacking of Caixinha would surely have raised questions in Alves’ mind about whether he saw a long-term future for himself at Ibrox and he didn’t play in any of the first four matches that Murty took charge of.

Last month, he admitted he could consider his position if he wasn’t featuring regularly and game time is what the European Championship winner needs most in the second half of the season as he looks to earn a place in the Portuguese World Cup squad this summer.

Alves may be in the twilight of his career but there is not enough evidence to suggest he is finished as a reliable operator. His showings for Rangers haven’t set him apart as the best in the Premiership by any manner of means, but in a season where performances and results have fluctuated wildly, he has been far from the worst operator at Ibrox.

If he leaves this month, he will do so having only shown in glimpses of what he is capable of and what supporters expected to see from him. Come the end of the season, that could be one of his, and their, biggest regrets.