If reports are to be believed, Rangers are prepared to accept a substantial loss when selling a player who joined the Scottish Premiership challengers under Mick Beale and was farmed out by Philippe Clement in the January transfer window.
But exactly how ‘substantial’, however, remains to be seen.
Clement may have breathed fresh life into the Rangers careers of Ridvan Yilmaz and Cyriel Dessers. But, when it came to the much-maligned £3 million summer signing, the task was too great even for the Ibrox boss with the golden touch.
Rangers look set to sell one of Mick Beale’s signings
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Sam Lammers continued to slip down the pecking order, and there were few mourners lining the gates when his mid-season loan move to FC Utrecht was concerned.
And despite a much-improved spell of form back home in the Netherlands – Lammers scored for a fourth successive Eredivisie game during the 5-1 midweek hammering of PEC Zwolle – it appears that the damage to his reputation on the blue half of Glasgow has been done.
Barry Ferguson, the former Gers skipper and a five-time Premiership champion, feels that a permanent departure is the right thing for all parties, even if Lammers’ ‘fantastic’ displays in the Netherlands may have others suggesting that he could still have a part to play under Clement.
“I think Rangers will try to do a deal with Utrecht,” Ferguson tells Go Radio. “It’s one of those (transfers) that never worked out. He’s gone back to the Dutch league and is performing well.”
Ferguson believes that, if Rangers can earn back ‘at least half’ of their £3 million investment, then that would be a fine bit of business.
“Rangers paid, what, £3 million?,” the former captain adds. “I think they’ll try and recoup at least half of that.
“And I think it would be a good deal for both Sam Lammers and Rangers.”
£1.5 million sale would be ‘a good deal’
Utrecht coach Ron Jans has admitted that he will ‘do everything’ to try and keep the well-travelled forward at the club. Jans does add, however, that Utrecht’s hopes could be killed off by Rangers’ demands, with the club’s president already confirming that even a loan deal for Lammers was initially beyond their financial means.
“I more or less pushed through to get Lammers,” Frans Van Seumeren tells De Beslissers podcast, personally involving himself in the deal which eventually brought the former PSV Eindhoven forward back to the Netherlands.
“At one point, Jordy (Zuidam, technical director) and Ron (Jans, head coach) did a really good job and approached him. And, in the end, it was clear that Lammers wanted to come.”
Rangers may still harbour some hopes that Lammers’ price-tag can be boosted by a continuation of his fine form, perhaps leading to a bidding war which could put him out of Utrecht’s reach.
The man himself, however, is expecting that there will be discussions at some point for a club who can still qualify for Europe next term.
“There have been no discussions yet,” says Lammers, who has scored or assisted five more goals for Utrecht than he did in the Scottish Premiership in five games fewer.
“But I am having a good time. So (talks) will be held.”
