Jared: Pena will be a playmaker not a playboy if family come too
MEXICO legend Jared Borgetti is convinced Carlos Pena’s wild days are behind him and insists the player is ready for his move to Rangers.
And the former Bolton striker has urged his countryman to move his family to Scotland to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Pedro Caixinha is closing in on his third summer capture with a fee agreed for the Chivas attacking midfielder.
Pena, who is travelling to Scotland for a medical, has been accused of wasting his career with his partying lifestyle but has denied there are off-field issues.
And Borgetti reckons the Light Blues are getting a playmaker rather than a playboy in the midfielder who has been capped 19 times for his country.
The former striker – his country’s second all-time top scorer behind Javier Hernandez – struggled with his own move to Britain in 2005.
He was signed by Sam Allardyce in a £1million deal from Pachuca in his homeland but lasted only a year in Lancashire, scoring seven times in 32 games before moving to Al Ittihad in the Middle East.
One of his country’s most famous players, Borgetti, 43, is now a pundit for ESPN Mexico and covers Caixinha’s former club Santos Laguna. He also works as an analyst on the football highlights show Futbol Picante.
And the 89-times capped former international told Record Sport: “I’m well aware of the off-field stories about Carlos and very conscious of that.
“But this is a mature player who knows he won’t be able to continue to perform if that is what he is doing.
“For Carlos to have the best possible experience he should take his family to Scotland. The weather and lifestyle is completely different from Mexico.
“In order for him to give his very best performances I advise he takes his family.
“If he does that he will be free to focus on his football and deliver his best. I know that from my own experience at Bolton.
“Carlos is a really ambitious player. His biggest asset is getting behind the striker and supporting in attack.
“I don’t think he will have any problem playing in the Scottish Premiership. He has great presence and is in great physical shape.
“He knows where to be on the pitch and has great game awareness. He will be able to play in Scotland without any problem, I am confident of that.
“I can’t honestly say that Carlos Pena is the star of Mexican football. There are a lot of up-and-coming players who have great potential and are younger than Carlos.
“But you can’t predict in football and Carlos now has a great chance in Glasgow. I’ve had the pleasure to meet him and have watched him play a lot.”