Despite 27 year old Dutchman Sam Lammers not really hitting the ground running at Ibrox following his arrival at Rangers back in the summer of 2023, for a long time it seemed that FC Utrecht were unlikely to make a firm move for him, in spite of his impressive loan spell for them.
Having made the switch back to the Eredivisie in the January transfer window, Lammers went on to feature 20 times for them, returning eleven goals, but having returned to us, plenty of Gers fans were wondering what his future may not hold. With some speculation on the rumour mill suggesting clubs did have an interest, for those with 100 deposit bonus there would be some good odds out there, and the latest claims this week would imply that Utrecht had been quietly in talks with us, and that we have found an agreement on a £2.7 million deal.
However, Lammers’ wage demands are said to have now become a stumbling block on any deal going through, as it is being reported that his ask on personal terms would see him paid three times more than Utrecht’s current highest paid player. With it already being noted that it looked like they were chasing alternative options to Lammers to begin with, if those wage demands are accurate, there is very little expectation that the Dutch club would even attempt to match them, and some are saying that they have already walked away from the deal.
The player himself is in a curious position. It is highly unlikely that he will work his way into manager Philippe Clement’s plans, or we still would not have been open to doing a deal, but despite his impressive spell at Utrecht, with three years left on his deal with us, he will have to be willing to compromise unless he wants to see his own career potentially come to a stall.
At 27 he should be approaching the prime years of his career, but for that to happen he needs to be playing, as although he has a pretty impressive goals to games (starts) ratio, that is diminished when you factor in the regularity to which he has featured as a substitute, as he has only really played regularly as a starter in two seasons, where he then achieved a double figure scoring return.
He does not really have the track record, or history to demand highest paid player status, so his choice should be simple. Play regularly for the final years of his career whilst he still can, or become a reasonably well paid nonentity, who will never truly know what he may have won or achieved, had he simply compromised to secure a move that would have clearly suited him.
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