THE AYES THE LIMIT

From Panama to Bulgaria and on to Scotland.. Cordoba's old sidekick says there will be no stopping incoming Rangers star

- ANDY NEWPORT

JOSE CORDOBA has taken the long road to Ibrox.

There have been plenty of hard yards on the journey from Panama to Bulgaria, including a frustratingly short stop off in sunny Spain.

There may be a few more to come as he joins a Rangers side still clambering back to their feet after seeing the legs whipped out from under this season's Treble bid.

But Levski Sofia stopper Kellian van der Kaap believes his defensive sidekick will take it all in his stride as he gets ready to set foot on Scottish soil.

Cordoba is due to become Philippe Clement's second signing of the summer as the Belgian boss begins a major overhaul of the squad.

For the £2million-rated centre-back, his move to Glasgow will be just the latest stopping point in a career that has already had to overcome some major hurdles.

After starting out with Independiente de La Chorrera in his Central American homeland, Cordoba won a dream loan move to La Liga with Celta Vigo in 2020.

But his Spanish sojourn failed to pan out as hoped when a first-team breakthrough proved beyond reach.

From there, the 22-year-old was left to rethink his plans, taking the bold step of joining Bulgarian second-tier outfit Etar Veliko Tarnovo.

But the only way since then has been up and he's now striding towards Scotland after a successful spell in Sofia.

"His potential has already taken him this far and he's still getting better," said Dutchman van der Kaap, who has been partnering Cordoba at the centre of the Levski backline for the past two-and-a-half years.

"How many players go from the level he started at and stand on the brink of the Champions League with Rangers?

"When you see that kind of journey, you have to ask, 'Where is his limit?'

"There's no limit for Jose.

"He was in Spain for only a short time but it was during Covid so I don't think you need to worry too much about his time there.