Rangers confirm Daniel Candeias signing from Benfica

Portuguese winger Daniel Candeias has joined Rangers on a two-year deal from Benfica.

Candeias becomes Pedro Caixinha’s fourth signing of the summer at Ibrox, with the transfer reuniting the pair who worked together at Nacional during the 2011/12 season.

The 29-year-old began his senior career with Porto, where he made four first-team appearances before a string of loans sent him to Portuguese sides Varzim, Rio Ave and Pacos de Ferreira as well as Spanish side Recreativo.
His next permanent move saw him link up with Caixinha for the first time at Nacional, where he made 85 appearances over four years and scored 13 goals.

Candeias moved to Benfica in 2014 but never made an appearance for the club, and was loaned out to clubs in Germany, Spain, France and Turkey.

His first loan move from Benfica saw him join FC Nurnberg in Germany, where he scored two goals in 16 appearances, and later played 11 times for Spanish side Granada before a temporary move to French club Metz, where he netted twice in 28 games.

Most recently he was on loan at Alanyaspor in Turkey and, having played his final game for the club last week, made 30 appearances for Alanyaspor during the 2016/17 season scoring four goals.
Candeias represented Portugal from U16 to U23 level, scoring 22 goals at youth level for his country.

He becomes the fourth Portuguese footballer to join Rangers this summer, after Bruno Alves and Fabio Cardoso joined permanently and Dalcio joined on loan.