Jefté Vital da Silva Dias, also known as the once promising samba boy born in the land of samba, Brazil to be precise, on 21 December 2003. The lad tips the scales at a healthy 11st 13lb (roughly 76kg, metrically speaking), whilst loftily standing at 6ft tall (or 1.83m if we are to internationalise measurements).
Whilst this bright spark hails from warmer climes, he is currently plying his trade within the crispy cold of the Premiership in Scotland, overdressed in the Ranger’s number 22 jersey as their left back defender. By some strange twist of fate, it appears that this young man prefers the chill in the air to the golden sandy beaches of his motherland. Alas, each to their own.
Moving on to the tale of how our young protagonist came to be in the land of haggis and kilts. Jefté, as he is so affectionately named, cut his teeth in the Série A with Fluminense beginning in January 2019. It was a rather humble beginning, joining as a mere trainee.
Stop your sobbing, for the tale takes a turn. The lad managed to secure a loan move to APOEL, a club lost somewhere in the First Division of Cyprus, in July 2023. It was here that he began to show the world what he had packaged in such a lean frame, scoring thrice from 31 appearances within the 2023-2024 season. Not too shabby for a lad so young.
The journey continues, and we find ourselves back where we started, as the 2024-2025 season brought forth a transfer to Rangers. The transaction, 'a fee of around £680k,' was a head-scratcher, I must say. In the current season with his Scot overlords, Jefté has made a satisfactory 26 first team flicks across the league matches.
Our Brazilian friend has shown no signs of wilting in the Scottish climate, having made appearances in the League Cup, Scottish Cup, Champions League Qualifiers and Europa League for the season at hand. A rather grand claim for the lad, considering the temperature difference alone.
Only time will tell how ‘Jefté’ Vital da Silva Dias will proceed on his journey, although one can't help but hope for some significant improvement, lest he be deemed surplus and shipped back to the warmer climes of Brazil or Cyprus, or perhaps somewhere altogether new. For £680k, one would expect some level of return on investment, wouldn't you say?
