By Dave McIntyre MILTON Keynes Dons have won the race to sign QPR youngster Angelo Balanta after John Gorman persuaded him to join them on a season-long loan. Gorman, who recently took over as assistant manager of the League One outfit, knows the player w

By Dave McIntyre

MILTON Keynes Dons have won the race to sign QPR youngster Angelo Balanta after John Gorman persuaded him to join them on a season-long loan.

Gorman, who recently took over as assistant manager of the League One outfit, knows the player well from his time as number two to Jim Magilton at Rangers last season.

The 19-year-old forward had been in line for a run in the first team before Magilton lost his job as manager and Gorman followed him out of Loftus Road.

Balanta can consider himself unlucky not to have made the breakthrough since, although injuries have also hampered his progress.

"He's a wonderful talent and has no much potential," said Gorman. "He'll be a very exciting player here and will offer us something different either on the left wing or as a striker."

With yet another glut of signings in the pipeline as Rangers continue to spend in a bid to seriously challenge for promotion, Balanta's first-team prospects were unlikely to improve.

And the recent purchase of left-sided forward Jamie Mackie from Plymouth Argyle was another indication that the Colombian-born teenager would be heading elsewhere.

Balanta is not short of admirers, partly because of a hugely impressive loan spell at Wycombe the season before last.

A host of League One sides were interested in signing him on loan, while one Championship club monitored Balanta for much of last season and a second were considering making an approach for him when MK Dons sealed the deal on Monday.

Meanwhile, Rangers - who completed a deal to sign Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny on Monday - are still hopeful of sealing Darren Ambrose's move from Crystal Palace.

They have lodged bids for a number of other players, and are thought to be weighing up a renewed move for Preston midfielder Darren Carter.

The club did make an enquiry about Carter prior to Neil Warnock's appointment as manager in March, but have not shown any concrete interest since then.

Progress in the transfer market is unlikely until later this week, when club chairman Gianni Paladini and managing director Ishan Saksena are due to return from the Football League's summer conference in Malta.