AMSTERDAM — Örebro midfield ace Alejandro Bedoya is crossing his fingers over a UK work permit approval after agreeing Thursday to a three-year pre-deal to join Rangers in January, MLSsoccer.com has learned.
The US international will run out of contract with the Swedish side at season's end. Örebro rejected a transfer offer for August, leaving Rangers to go the slightly more patient free-agent wait route.
Despite playing five matches at last month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, Bedoya does not meet the participation-percentage criteria for instant work-permit approval to international players and will be subject to an appeal hearing before he gets the chance to join US teammate Maurice Edu with the Scottish champs.
However, his agent and Rangers are feeling optimistic about their upcoming appeal presentation to the UK Home Office.
"It's a process we must go through," Bedoya rep Lyle Yorks told MLSsoccer.com from Glasgow. "We'll know soon enough, but we are confident based on his Gold Cup involvement."
If granted a work permit, the 24-year-old Miami-raised winger would become the fourth American to wear Light Blues in Glasgow after Edu, DaMarcus Beasley and Claudio Reyna.
Bedoya, who has been nursing an ankle injury, will miss Thursday night's Europa League second qualifying-round capper at FK Sarajevo. For the season, he has four goals in 11 Allsvenskan outings, tied for the team scoring lead.
If Örebro advance and the American appears, it could prove an eventual complication to Rangers. Once a player has featured for a club in any UEFA tournament, he becomes cap-tied to that team until the tourney's end, in this case the May 19 final in Munich.
Rangers are set for the Champions League's third preliminary round, but could be shuffled to the Europa League after either the playoff round or group phase.
