Kevin Kelsy reportedly set to join Rangers after hiding in truck to pursue career

Kevin Kelsy, the 22-year-old Portland Timbers striker, has reportedly agreed a transfer to Rangers in Glasgow after a career that has already taken him to clubs in Venezuela, Uruguay, Ukraine and the United States. His journey, which included hiding in a mining truck to bypass a Covid-19 travel ban and living through the conflict in Ukraine, has been widely reported as part of the move.

Kelsy began his senior career with Mineros de Guayana, making his debut in 2021 at the age of 16 after travelling 500 miles from his hometown of Valencia. To reach Mineros during the pandemic he said he hid in a mining truck to avoid checkpoints: "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."

After scoring five goals in 24 appearances in the season following his debut, Kelsy moved to Europe with Shakhtar Donetsk following a brief spell with Boston River in Uruguay. Across two title-winning seasons with Shakhtar he scored nine goals in 37 appearances while living through the conflict in Ukraine.

Reflecting on his time in Ukraine, Kelsy said: "It was my first proper experience outside of my country and a very drastic change - both culturally and sporting. There were times when I lived first hand the attacks on the country, but also saw how the country defended itself. 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."

Kelsy moved to Major League Soccer with a loan to FC Cincinnati in 2024, scoring six goals in 23 appearances before winning a transfer to the Portland Timbers, where he has 16 goals in 53 matches. His goals-to-games ratio improved after the move to Portland, a factor behind his rising profile.

Standing 6ft 4in, Kelsy is left-footed and described as physically imposing and used to leading an attack; Portland Timbers general manager Ned Grabavoy commented on those traits: "I'm not the tallest guy in the room, but man, I got to say, he's just a solid block," said Grabavoy. "His work ethic at times - it's almost like he's overworking. A big thing with him is to try and show him how to work efficiently, how to work within our group and how to work within our team. As he's opened up and got more comfortable during his time here, he's starting to take direction and utilise it and maximise it to be the best version of himself on the field."

Rangers' current striking options include Lawrence Shankland, who arrived as the club's marquee summer signing and was made captain by Derek McInnes after James Tavernier's departure. Shankland scored 24 goals in 40 games for Hearts under McInnes and has made six appearances for Rangers this season, three of them from the bench, with his first Premiership goal coming on Sunday when he converted the penalty that defeated Aberdeen.

Youssef Chermiti began as a lone striker in the first leg of Rangers' Europa League qualifying defeat by Jagiellonia Bialystok but suffered an early-season anterior cruciate ligament injury, after which Ryan Naderi became McInnes' preferred forward and scored twice in three games. In contrast, Miovski, who scored 14 goals in 47 games last season, has made just one appearance off the bench so far this campaign and appears the least favoured option.

If Kelsy completes a move to Ibrox, Rangers could offload a central striker despite Chermiti's long-term absence, and former Aberdeen striker Miovski would be the favourite to depart.