The fates of Rangers and one Eredivisie outfit appear to have become strangely intertwined recently.
When the Scottish Premiership giants completed the £1.5 million signing of Robin Propper at the start of August, he found himself reuniting with former FC Twente team-mate Vaclav Cerny at Ibrox.
Cerny, meanwhile, had already renewed acquaintances with Danilo. The striker with whom he struck up a ‘sensational’ partnership during the 2020/21 campaign.
And in a summer in which three former Twente stars found themselves pulling in the same direction again – this time in the blue of Rangers – another player moved in the opposite direction.
After a reputation-restoring, 10-goals-in-18-games loan spell at Utrecht last term, Twente jumped at the chance to bring a permanent end to Sam Lammers’ miserable spell in Glasgow.
Twente striker Sam Lammers shining away from Rangers
The Enschede outfit paid £2.8 million for the privilege. Rangers, at least, managed to recoup almost every penny of the fee they paid Atalanta during Mick Beale’s one-and-only summer at the helm.
And, picking up where he left off at Utrecht, Lammers needed little time to hit his stride at Twente.
The well-travelled Dutchman has two goals in three appearances already. The most recent came against his old employers before the September international break, justifying the prediction of one Eredivisie pundit who tipped Lammers for a shot at the Golden Boot this term.
NEC Nijmegen director Carlos Aalbers confirmed that his side made a ‘last-ditch’ attempt to snatch Lammers from under Twente’s nose back in July.
But could the former PSV Eindhoven youngster have aimed a little higher than Twente, let alone NEC? Should he instead have joined an Ajax side who – despite finishing below Joseph Oosting’s side in a dreadful 2023/24 campaign – remain comfortably the most high-profile team in the Netherlands?
Ralf Seuntjens certainly thinks so.
The De Graafschap veteran, who came up against the likes of Ajax and Twente during his own spell in the Eredivisie, feels that Lammers would have been a tailor-made addition for team looking to reclaim their status as the dominant club in Dutch football.
“I’ll be honest, if you arrive at Ajax with Wout Weghorst, you’ve gone far. This is really not on, man,” Seuntjens tells FC Afkicken, baffled by the decision to bring in a 32-year-old targetman when there was another striker far more technically-gifted and far more suited to their needs available.
“This policy makes no sense at all. You have (Brian) Brobbey and (Chuba) Akpom. Brobbey should simply be the first striker at Ajax.
“They could have bought Sam Lammers. He is cheaper, and I think he is more of an Ajax striker than Weghorst. In terms of everything, he is more of an Ajax striker than Weghorst.
“Nothing against Weghorst, mind you, but this (deal) is not possible. As Ajax, this is really not possible. If I were on the board of directors, I would have blocked this.”
Ajax told they should have signed Ibrox misfit
Ajax’s success, after all, has been built upon extreme levels of technical ability. Not to mention footballers capable of living up to their ‘Total Voetbal’ traditions.
Lammers, labelled a ‘beautiful player to watch‘ with his confidence and swan-like elegance returning, certainly feels more stylistically Ajax than a bustling, 6ft 6ins battering ram of a number nine a la Weghorst.
“With his technique, creativity and ability to create chances, he is a player who fits in very well with the way Twente is currently playing,” former Rangers striker Michael Mols told ESPN when the news of Lammers’ return to the Netherlands emerged in the summer.
“I compare him a bit with myself from the past. He always wants to free himself up before he shoots on goal. Sometimes he just has to shoot faster.
“I received constructive criticism from my (former Utrecht) coach Ronald Spelbos that I had to be more focused, shoot faster. That is something that Lammers can also add to his game, which makes him an even better striker.
“I think that is a shame,” Mols adds with regards to that ill-fated spell in Glasgow. “In my time, I had players around me who supported me. He did not have that, so it was a lot harder for him. Scottish football is simply not for him.
“He is much better off in the Netherlands. We have seen that again now at Utrecht. And Twente is a step up.”
