A lack of "passion to play for Rangers" ultimately led to Jose Cordoba's Norwich City move.

That's according to the Scottish giants' director of football recruitment Nils Koppen, who came very close to signing Cordoba himself when he left Bulgarian side Levski Sofia this summer.

Both Koppen and the Canaries had been tracking Cordoba closely, but the English side looked set to miss out on his signature when he flew north of the border for talks with Rangers boss Phillipe Clement.

A late change of heart meant the Panama international joined City, however, costing around £3million and ending their search for a left-sided centre-back.

Koppen says that signing the 23-year-old would have been a mistake for the 'Gers given his clear hesitance over joining them.


He told the Rangers Review: “A lot of work had been done and we got to a point where everything was agreed. The player was here in Glasgow and attended a game, but we didn’t really feel that passion to come and play for Rangers.

“While there was an agreement in place, we decided that we can’t have a player at Rangers who has already started to doubt if this is the best place for him before he’s played a minute of football.

“It’s unfortunate because of how much work goes into the process, but at the end of the day you need to ask: are we comfortable with the situation?”

Cordoba has made a positive start to life at Carrow Road, recovering from early injury problems to become a regular starter under Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Norwich head of recruitment Lee Dunn told the Pink Un that his capture was exactly what they were looking for this summer, and praised the defender's qualities.

"In Jose's case, finding left-footed centre-backs who are athletic, who are strong, who can bring the ball out from the back, there's not many, and certainly not many affordable ones," he said.

"He's a really good case of someone we believed was an undervalued player when we signed him. I think he's had a positive start so far."