WHILE Jardel continues his tour of Europe, the Brazilian who has pledged himself to Rangers is now in Barcelona awaiting news of the work permit he requires before he can play in the premier division, Peter van Vossen was returning to Glasgow to sign on at Ibrox filling a vacancy created by the departure of Oleg Salenko.

The Russian was expected to sign for Istanbulspor although the transfer deadline in Turkey, which was due to expire at 2pm yesterday, had to be extended by a couple of hours because the official responsible for registering Salenko was delayed in traffic.

Rangers' manager Walter Smith didn't anticipate any other problems and the club will finalise the deal with van Vossen at lunchtime today, but, so far as Jardel is concerned, it is anyone's guess as to when he will actually play for Rangers, if at all. Work permits are non-transferable and the issuing of one can be a complicated and drawn-out business.

Although sending Salenko to play with the Turkish club as a straight swop for van Vossen makes a work permit vacant, Rangers can't hold on to it. They must reapply, but first they must convince the Scottish Football League that they should be allowed to circumvent one of the league's rules before application can be made to the Department of Employment.

The rule states that a club with a non-EU player using one of the 10 work permits - Scottish clubs can't have more than two work permits at a time - can't automatically reapply for another permit simply because they sell on a player before his contract expires. The club can be made to wait until the full contractual period ends, but special representation can be made to the management committee.

Rangers will do that, but this process alone might take as long as eight weeks because of the correspondence which will have to be undertaken. For instance, the league are required to alert all clubs that a work permit has become vacant and, if no other club wishes to take advantage, then Rangers will be able to approach the DoE, based in Sheffield, again and that will not be straightforward.

If Rangers get that far, much will depend on how they present their case to the department, who are bound to contact the SFA, SFL, and the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association for their views on the application.

Also, the department will not easily be persuaded Jardel should be allowed the right to work in Scotland because he is not a current Brazilian internationalist and permits are supposed to be issued only to players who have appeared in at least 75% of their national side's matches in the two years immediately preceding an application.

A spokeswoman at the DoE said yesterday: ``There are criteria which must be met, but these are not set in stone. If a club wanted to make a special case then we would consider it. It would all depend on how Rangers state their case.''

The department have already accommodated a Rangers request because when Salenko was signed he had not played the required number of matches for his national side, but he was granted a permit, nonetheless.

Rangers embarked on the quest to bring a Brazilian to Ibrox believing Jardel would be able to secure a Portuguese passport because his wife, Karen, has one, but that avenue, which would have bypassed the need to have a work permit, appears now to have been blocked off. A permit is Rangers' hope now, but that will be a protracted procedure even though it seems already as though the Jardel affair has been dragging on for an eternity.

Jardel, who has stopped off in Portugal, Glasgow, and now Barcelona, where training arrangements have been made for him, can't hang around for ever while Rangers go through league channels before turning to the DoE. There are a number of pitfalls and Rangers could very easily lose out and it is irresponsible of anyone to assume everything will work out in Rangers' favour.

It could be the #2m plus deal would have to be scrapped and Jardel's club, Gremio, would have to look elsewhere to find a buyer.

Although Smith says he is willing to wait, perhaps even until the beginning of next season before seeing Jardel play for him, the situation in which he finds himself is far from ideal.

Fortunately, however, the tried and trusted of Ibrox are responding well to the challenge being sustained by Celtic. ``I still think we have a bit to do before the team will be as good as it was a few seasons ago, but the response to the challenge has been good,'' Smith said.

``It has made a change having Celtic pressing us, and although I wouldn't describe the experience as enjoyable, we have been enjoying better results and performances.''

Smith has examined the state of those around the Old Firm and believes they are suffering because they have had to respond to safety demands and the Taylor Report. Money for players has been short while clubs struggle to rebuild grounds and the Rangers manager pointed out: ``When the two biggest clubs in the country get their acts together and are able to bring in a better standard of player it is difficult for the others to keep up, especially when they are trying to deal with safety requirements.

``This, I think, has caused a stagnation within some of these clubs and while that isn't healthy the clubs themselves are not to blame. In very few other countries do clubs have to fund stadium work themselves and it can be a hell of a financial strain.

``However, any damage can be repaired quickly when these clubs are able to concentrate again on buying players and the relaxation of the transfer system might mean an influx from Europe. That would help standards.

``Also, it would, no doubt, be good for Scottish football to have four or five clubs putting Rangers and Celtic under pressure.

``The game needs it, and the Old Firm need it also.''