When Rangers coming knocking, your first response should be to dig out your passport and chuck your belongings in the nearest suitcase.
First, the links emerged. Then came the confirmation that there was some truth to the rumours. And, within 48 hours or so, Robin Propper became a Rangers player.
The experienced defender arrives from FC Twente for what manager Philippe Clement feels is a bargain fee of just £1.5 million.
And, make no mistake, this was quite the coup. Twente finished third in the Eredivisie last season – ahead of Ajax – while securing their place in the Champions League qualifiers. Leaving a club on the up will not have been an easy decision.
But for Jeroen Veldmate – formerly a centre-half in the Dutch top-flight himself – this was an opportunity Propper could not turn down.
Rangers sign FC Twente captain Robin Propper
“FC Twente has made huge steps in recent years and he felt so good there. He could have grown old here. Only if such a club comes along (would he have considered leaving)…” Veldmate tells De Oosttribune, claiming that Rangers have a pulling power far in excess of, say, the champions of Bulgaria or Hungary.
“If a Ludogorets or Ferencvaros had come along, he probably would have said ‘no’. But if such a club comes along, then you go.”
Propper’s departure, ‘extremely unfortunate’ in it’s timing, not only robs Twente of their finest centre-half.
The 6ft 3ins colossus was the club’s captain too. A massive presence both on and off the pitch at the Stadion Galgenwaard and – according to Veldmate – the glue which kept this Twente side together.
“It’s not just a player you lose. I think it’s more than a player,” adds Veldmate, who represented the likes of Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam as well as Propper’s old employers Heracles.
“He’s a figurehead, positive, a guy you can work with very well. (Centre-back partner Mees) Hilgers can work with him well. The left back can work with him well.
“People sometimes forget that you’re a duo in the centre of defence. You have to be attuned to each other. He was a guy who kept it together.”
Gers debut awaits in Dynamo Kiev clash
At the age of 30, this is the first time Propper has ventured outside of his Netherlands homeland.
He admitted that former team-mates Vaclav Cerny and Cyriel Dessers played a big role in his decision to swap Enschede for Ibrox, while Veldmate feels that such an opportunity would not have presented itself had Propper not gone about his business with such consistency over the last few seasons.
His performances have been so impressive that comparisons have been draw with Dutch duo Stefan de Vrij and Virgil van Dijk.
“I think it’s amazing that he can still make this step at this age,” adds the now-35-year-old defender.
“A striker scores fifteen goals in one season and is allowed to make such a transfer. (In contrast, Propper) has to reach a top level for three or four years and then he can make such a step.
“I think that’s really amazing.”
Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle came too early for Propper, left out of the squad as former Twente winger Cerny caught Clement’s eye off the bench.
A Rangers debut is on the cards, however, ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier with Dynamo Kiev.
