GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 18: A general view during the pre-season friendly match between Rangers and Newcastle at Ibrox Stadium on July 18, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Derek Ferguson isn’t convinced Rangers will be able to make their money back if they sell Sam Lammers this summer.
The former Ibrox midfielder believes that the Dutch forward may be more suited to playing in the Eredivisie after finding some form on loan at FC Utretcht since January, after a difficult half-season in Glasgow.
Having arrived from Atalanta for around £3.5million a year ago [Daily Record, 15 June] Lammers only managed to score twice for the Light Blues across 31 total appearances, but has netted eight times for Utrecht in just 14 outings.
So Ferguson expects it to be in the interests of all involved for the two sides to work out a deal that allows him to stay where he is, even if Rangers have to make a loss on the transaction.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News he said: “I don’t know about making their money back, he left for a reason, because he wasnae producing the goods.
“To be honest with you he was all over the place at times. At Utrecht he’s found a place where he seems to be happy and he’s scored a few goals.
“It’s whether a deal can be done. Sometimes you go to a club, you’ve seen it with players at different clubs throughout the years, it doesn’t quite happen for them for whatever reason
“I think it would be best for both parties for Lammers to go and play his football somewhere else, and why not in Holland?
“It seems that type of football is more suited to him. He struggled for long periods when he was at Rangers earlier in the season, and at times you were hoping he was going to go on a good run of form, start banging in a few goals, but [it didn’t happen].”
Philippe Clement to sanction Rangers departure for Sam Lammers?
Losing money on a rough half-season and just two goals is clearly not a desirable outcome for Rangers but it may be the least-worst option for Philippe Clement.
The Belgian stuck with the 26-year-old during his first few months in charge of the club but when there was no uplift in form he was happy to let the struggling Lammers depart one transfer window after arriving, as he did with Jose Cifuentes.
It doesn’t seem to benefit anyone for an unhappy player to be sitting on the bench and not playing so any sort of financial return would be preferable.
Lammers looks to have proven his worth to Utrecht so a deal to keep him there seems feasible, and if not it would perhaps be no surprise to see another Dutch side move to land him after a strong second half of the campaign.
