Caixinha delivers brutal response to speculation Rangers are in midfield kingpin signing talks
By Harry Sykes
Pedro Caixinha has dismissed speculation that Rangers have made a move to sign Hearts midfielder Alexandros Tziolis as “pure rubbish”.
The Daily Record claims that the Portuguese spoke with the Greece international, 32, after he had figured in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Rangers on Saturday.
The newspaper even reported that Caixinha held signing talks with Tziolis in his office in the aftermath of the Ibrox match.
But the manager delivered a brutal response to the speculation on Monday, with the official Rangers Twitter account quoting him as saying the link is “pure rubbish”.
This appears to have ended at a stroke the possibility that midfield kingpin Tziolis could head to Rangers when his contract with Heart expires next month.
The 63-times Greece international, who worked with Caixinha when he was the assistant manager at Panathinaikos, will be available for free after only signing for the Edinburgh club on a six-month deal in January.
Tziolis made his Scottish debut in the 4-1 thrashing of Rangers at Tynecastle in early February and has gone on to make 16 appearances in all competitions.
The defensive midfielder has played for a large number of clubs in his career including big guns Werder Bremen, Racing Santander, Monaco and PAOK.
He was a part of the Bremen team which reached the UEFA Cup final in 2008 that lost to Shakhtar Donetsk.
In other Rangers transfer news, the day of the long knives has continued as Caixinha has bombed another senior player out of Ibrox.
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