RANGERS left-back target Jefte has apologised for his disappearing act in Cyprus.
The defender is currently on loan at APOEL Nicosia from Fluminense, but a deal is believed to have been struck for a summer transfer to Ibrox.
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The Gers had aimed to bring that move forward to January and bring the Brazilian in during the transfer window – but only if the Cypriot league leaders agreed to cut his loan short.
But they are keen to sign the 20-year-old themselves but have their hands tied by a Uefa transfer embargo which allowed Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen to step in and strike a gentleman’s agreement with his Rio de Janierio based bosses.
In the midst of the transfer tug of war that closed out last month’s transfer window the defender went missing and failed to report for training.
Reports in Cyprus say he has been fined after being found and now the defender has asked for his fans’ forgiveness in an emotional social media post.
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He opened up on Instagram in his latest story on the platform on Friday evening.
He said: “To all APOEL fans, my teammates, the coach, the president and the entire club staff, I would like to communicate my apology for being absent. At the time of the incident, I was not feeling in a position to help the club and I chose to leave.
“The institution deserves all my commitment, dedication and focus, as it has been in the last few months, and as it will be from now on.
“We remain stronger than ever and are now 100% focused on the main objective of winning the championship.”
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He signed off with the rallying cry “Mono APOEL”.
Jefte was the final piece in Philippe Clement’s transfer wishlist in a position where Borna Barisic is running out of contract and intense speculation has followed Ridvan Yilmaz.
However the Gers boss insisted he was pleased with his transfer window’s work and applauded his Ibrox board for rejecting bids for the Turkish left-back and star man Jack Butland.
The Gers brought in Fabio Silva, Oscar Cortes and Mohamed Diomande last month, while letting Adam Devine and Sam Lammers leave on loan.
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