Rangers have agreed a deal to sign Arnold Peralta, the Honduran internationalist, on September 1.
The deal is subject to the Ibrox club receiving a work permit for the midfielder, who has agreed to a four-year contract. He will, however, join the squad for pre-season training.
Rangers have been tracking the player for several months, with Kenny McDowall having travelled out to Honduras to watch him play. The 24-year-old has become a regular in his national squad, with games against Costa Rica and the USA this month. Peralta, who studied accountancy, played for the Honduran side Vida last season, as well as spending a period on loan at Real Salt Lake City.
"I am delighted to be joining a club with the size and history of Rangers," Peralta said. "I had several offers from Europe, MLS and at home in Honduras, but when I was told I could sign for Rangers it was an easy decision. I am looking forward to pulling on that famous blue shirt and getting out on the Ibrox pitch, hopefully the club and fans will appreciate what I can bring to the team.
"God has blessed me with this opportunity to play football. It is a wonderful game and I'm proud to be professional. I was brought up in La Ceiba and I studied chartered accountancy in the Manuel Bonilla Institute in the city. I had trials at Deportivo Victoria, but was told I was too small. That gave me motivation to prove them wrong. I remained calm.
"My mother told me to keep studying and graduate. She told me to forget my dream of being a footballer because it's such a short life. I went to college, but missed classes because of football and eventually withdrew so I could sign for Deportivo Vida. People told me I was wasting my time, but I always had faith I could make it as a footballer and European football was always my aim. I made my debut six years ago against Real Espana and I like to think I have done not too bad. Now I watch Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on TV. I know I'll be on the same level one day."
A combative figure, Peralta has featured at right-back on occasion, but Ally McCoist, the Rangers manager, will play him in his more accustomed role of centre midfield. He joins Cammy Bell, Nicky Law, Jon Daly and Nicky Clark in having agreed to sign for Rangers when the club's registration ban is lifted.
"He will certainly give us a bit of bite in the middle of the park," said McCoist. "He actually played at right-back when we saw him but his best role is sitting in midfield. Arnold is very aggressive and he gets about the park well so I think he would blend in with the rest of the midfield and he will be a good signing."
Rangers will have to reduce the size of their squad before the start of the season, with Scottish Football League rules restricting teams to registering only 22 players aged over 21. With the new signings, and Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian due to return from loan spells, the Ibrox side will have 26 players aged over 21.
Craig Mather, the interim chief executive, has insisted the Scottish Premier League have not spoken to Rangers about an invitation to join SPL2, should a split occur among the SFL clubs during the league reconstruction vote this month and suggested such it would be rejected.
"Ally and I have always been on the same page and the club's stance is simple," Mather said. "We're now in June and we have had no contact whatsoever from the SPL regarding anything. We want to work our way up the leagues, creating building blocks so that when we get back to the top of Scottish football, we have the right team and ethos. As far as we are concerned, we will be playing in SFL2 or whatever that league will be called next season."
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