With plenty of Rangers fans expecting quite a busy summer transfer window, the club have already been quick to act and have taken some big decisions, allied to a few decisions that many fans would have been asking for themselves when it came to the number of players that we previously announced would be leaving Ibrox when their existing contracts naturally came to an end.
With 50 year old Belgian manager Philippe Clement already helping himself to a few new captures – we have seen Mohamed Diomande’s loan spell turn permanent, our new left back is youngster Jefte, Oscar Cortes returns for a second loan spell after his first campaign was beset by injury, and on early Monday evening we confirmed the pre contract arrival of highly rated young French centre half Clinton Nsiala.
The experts at Betzillion may well have predicted this, as a few days back it began looking like disappointing Dutch striker Sam Lammers would be returning, and hoping for a second Ibrox chance after FC Utrecht passed on the potential to sign him permanently, even though he impressed in the Eredivisie with a return of eleven goals in 21 appearances across all competitions.
Their decision to not sign him certainly went against the narrative that had been coming out of the club last season, and given their fans were largely in favour of keeping him, there will naturally be some disappointment. Utrecht fans may see him again sooner than they first imagined though, as over the weekend, it was being widely reported that they were not the only suitor in the Dutch top flight who had an interest in him.
According to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, fellow side FC Twente apparently a very strong eye on him, and for 27 year old Lammers this would be an interesting prospect for him. He knows the country and top flight well from his spells with PSV Eindhoven, Heerenveen and latterly Utrecht. With Twente also finishing almost 20 clear points ahead of Utrecht in the 2023/24 campaign, taking third place in the table, on paper it would naturally be a step up for him as well.
Not least that next term they will be playing in the Champions League, and that will naturally be a pull for the player when he makes any future decisions about where his career path may now go.
Even though it looked like he was returning to us this summer, and we had the talk of a potential second chance under our gaffer, the possible speculation of an unexpected role in 2024/25 was always overshadowed by the fact that Rangers would likely continue to invite further offers behind the scenes, as unless he hit pre season running, a sale suits our current plans better as Clement and director of recruitment Nils Koppen, continue their own work to thoroughly reshape the squad and get players in, who they feel better suit our gaffer’s demands and preferred playing style moving forward.
This weekend also saw some interesting future links appear for 30 year old Tom Lawrence. The former Manchester United Academy graduate, and 23 capped Welsh international, spent a good few years looking for a proper home until he rocked up at Derby County – and a four year spell with them saw great game time, and it convinced former gaffer Giovanni van Bronckhorst to bring him as a free agent back in the summer of 2022.
If the rumour mill speculation is correct, three clubs are chasing him – former (loan) side Ipswich Town who want to add experience for their top flight return, Sheffield United who are looking to bounce back from relegation last season, and Turkish side Besiktas, who have recently appointed van Bronckhorst as their new head coach.
With him only having 12 months left on his current deal, Rangers could well be tempted into doing a deal here to simply avoid losing someone else as a free agent in the summer of 2025.
It might be one to watch.
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