One of the deals Rangers made during the January transfer window is quickly starting to look like a masterstroke.
And we don’t mean the arrivals of Mohammed Diomande and Oscar Cortes, a pair of loanees who made an immediate impression under Philippe Clement to earn themselves a place in Rangers’ squad for 2023/24 too.
We are talking about the decision to send Sam Lammers out on loan.
Because, after only a few months back in the Eredivisie with FC Utrecht, a player Rangers might have found almost impossible to move on now has clubs chasing his signature like a pack of hungry piranhas.
Thank god Rangers allowed Lammers to leave on a temporary basis. A man who scored only twice in 31 Scottish Premiership games netted ten in 18 Eredivisie fixtures. Interest soared as a result.
A three-horse race between Utrecht, AZ Alkmaar and Twente is now threatening to break out, with Rangers hoping to recoup much of that ill-advised £3 million investment.
Rangers misfit Sam Lammers is a man in demand
AZ Alkmaar certainly aren’t short of cash. The team who finished fourth last season have £18 million in the bank after selling Golden Boot winner Vangelis Pavlidis to Benfica.
Lammers has reportedly been lined up as Pavlidis’ replacement, per ESPN.
FC Twente finished one place and three points better off than AZ in 2023/24. And the Enschede outfit are now hoping to get one other on their rivals again with Lammers also on their radar.
Highly-rated head coach Joseph Oosting did not mention Lammers by name when quizzed on his transfer plans. But he did confirm that Twente are prioritising a striker in the current market.
“Will there be some more players (arriving)? Well, that is actually the intention,” Oosting says on FC Twente’s official YouTube channel. “We are of course still looking for a striker. That is the priority.
“But for the rest, the team is fairly (sorted).”
Eredivisie trio are all keen
Twente could step up their pursuit of former PSV Eindhoven and Heerenveen man Lammers with Wout Weghorst – an Oosting favourite and a boyhood Reds fan – reportedly set to agree personal terms ahead of a move to Ajax instead, per Fabrizio Romano.
Utrecht, meanwhile, are refusing to accept defeat as of yet. Even if Ron Jans’ side feel like outsiders in a battle with AZ and Twente.
“It is not yet 100 per cent (sure that Lammers will not return),” Jans explains to ESPN. “But less than 50 per cent.
“We keep hoping and will not give up until it is final.”
Utrecht may soon be welcoming a windfall of their own with PSV looking to sign centre-back Ryan Flamengofor around £8.5 million.
Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller, meanwhile, believes Lammers is one of a number of players Clement and Nils Koppen could move on to raise funds. Speaking to the Daily Record, Miller feels that Kieran Dowell, Ridvan Yilmaz and Scott Wright are among those also under threat, with a rejuvenation of the frontline a prioritiy.
“For me, (the attack) is the key area the manager has to address this summer,” Miller says. “Because it simply wasn’t up to scratch last season, when you compare it to Celtic’s forward line.
“Sam Lammers has been out on loan and performed well at Utrecht, so Rangers will be hoping to recoup some cash to fund signings.”
