Rangers Secure Record-Breaking Transfer for Portland Timbers' Kevin Kelsy

Scottish Premiership side Rangers have acquired forward Kevin Kelsy from the Portland Timbers, as The Guardian first reported. The transfer fee is $13 million, which represents a club record for an outgoing transfer for Portland, and may increase based on performance goals. The MLS club will also receive a sell-on fee as part of the agreement.

Portland originally signed the 22-year-old Venezuela international from Shakhtar Donetsk last January for $6 million. During his tenure with the Timbers, Kelsy recorded 16 goals in 43 appearances. While Portland reportedly had little intention of selling Kelsy this window, the record-breaking fee proved too high to decline. To bolster their attack, the Timbers have already signed former Monterrey and Tottenham striker Vincent Janssen.

Rangers manager Derek McInnes sought reinforcements after Portuguese striker Youssef Chermiti suffered an ACL tear in early August. The club has struggled in its opening two league games and recently dropped into the Uefa Conference League after a Europa League qualifying loss to Jagiellonia Bialystok. Other recent additions to the squad include Japanese winger Daisuke Yokota, and the club expects former Girona winger Kim Min-su to join this week.

Kelsy is traveling to Glasgow this week for a medical and to finalize the deal, though a source told The Guardian he is unlikely to play in Sunday's match against Aberdeen. Meanwhile, Belgium international Nicolas Raskin has missed recent matches due to a potential move to Galatasaray.