How Rangers target Kelsy once hid in truck to chase football dream

From hiding in a truck to avoid a travel ban to living through the war in Ukraine, Kevin Kelsy's nascent career has already been a colourful one.

The 22-year-old Portland Timbers striker looks poised to add an interesting new chapter, with a transfer to Rangers reportedly agreed.

But what would the Venezuela forward bring to Ibrox - and what would his move to Glasgow mean for Rangers' existing strikers?

Kelsy began his career in his homeland with Mineros de Guayana, making his debut in 2021 at the age of just 16.

That very early start in top-tier football gives an indication of Kelsy's natural talent, and his actual journey to Mineros shows his determination and his spirit.

To get there, he had to travel 500 miles from his hometown of Valencia. But that hefty distance wasn't the biggest problem - the Covid-19 pandemic meant there was a nationwide travel ban.

So, to avoid detection at checkpoints, he hid in a mining truck.

"It wasn't an appropriate time to be using airports or anything to do with [travel] - so Mineros' president and my agent had an idea," Kelsy said earlier this year, speaking to a Portland Timbers blog.

"Thinking about it, the idea was crazy to be honest. I was so young, I only let myself be guided by my dreams, not thinking about the craziness of what I was doing.

"It was all for my dream, which was to be a professional athlete, to play in Europe."

The year after Kelsy's debut, he began to make his mark, with five goals in 24 appearances.

That led to his dream move to Europe, signing for Shakhtar Donetsk after a very brief spell in Uruguay with Boston River.

Over his two title-winning seasons with Shakhtar, he netted nine goals in 37 appearances to the backdrop of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

"It was my first proper experience outside of my country and a very drastic change - both culturally and sporting," he added.

"There were times when I lived first hand the attacks on the country, but also saw how the country defended itself," Kelsy said.

"I won't lie to you, I could see up in the sky war drones getting knocked down.

"They are moments that will forge you, mature you. I think ultimately dreams are bigger than anything else, so I tried not to mind all those things the best I could."

Lawrence Shankland was Rangers' marquee summer signing even before Derek McInnes had joined from Hearts.

At Tynecastle, Shankland continued as Hearts captain during McInnes' sole season as head coach and scored 24 goals in 40 games.

McInnes made Shankland the Rangers captain following James Tavernier's departure at the end of last season.

However, the new skipper has not been a regular starter, with half of his appearances so far this season off the bench. He got his first Premiership goal on Sunday - converting the penalty that defeated Aberdeen.

Chermiti began as a lone striker in the first leg of Rangers' Europa League qualifying defeat by Jagiellonia Bialystok but after his injury, Ryan Naderi took over as McInnes' preferred forward prior to the Aberdeen match, scoring twice in three games.

Miovski, who was in and out of the Rangers team in his debut campaign last term and scored 14 goals in 47 games, has made just one appearance off the bench so far this season. He would appear to be McInnes' least favoured option in attack.

If Kelsy joins, one central striker could leave Ibrox even with Chermiti a long-term absentee - and former Aberdeen striker Miovski would be the favourite to depart.