Sometimes, a player just suits one league better than most. That certainly feels like the case when discussing a man Rangers paid £3 million for and have seen very little return on their investment.
We can now add the Scottish Premiership to the Bundesliga and Serie A in the list of competitions where the Ibrox misfit has struggled to showcase his talents.
During spells at Rangers, Atalanta, Eintracht Frankfurt, Sampdoria and Empoli, Sam Lammers mustered a miserable tally of eight goals across all competitions.
The contrast between those numbers and the figures he produces back home in the Netherlands, then, is nothing short of night and day.
Prolific in the Eredivisie, profligate, ponderous and plodding elsewhere.
Since returning to his homeland via a January loan to FC Utrecht, Lammers scored 10 goals in 18 games. His best spell since the terrific stint at Heerenveen back in 2019 that paved the way for his £9 million switch to Atalanta.
Sam Lammers set to leave Rangers for Eredivisie return
Michael Mols knows both Dutch and Scottish football better than most, having taken in spells at Rangers, Feyenoord and the aforementioned Utrecht amongst others.
And he feels that Lammers would benefit from taking a leaf out of the Mols playbook, while backing the elegant if often-ineffective frontman to continue his recent revival with a permanent move to FC Twente.
“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,” Mols tells ESPN. “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.”
According to Sky Sports, Twente are hoping to strike a deal for around £2 million.
Their sporting director, Arnold Bruggink, has already admitted that Lammers is a target though a compromise may have to be made on his current £20,000-a-week salary.
“Money should never be the motivation in my eyes. The sporting picture is much more important,” adds Mols, a two-time Premiership champion at Rangers.
“I think Lammers also enjoyed himself very much at Utrecht, but I think he just sees Twente as an improvement in his position on a sporting level.”
FC Twente favourites to win the race
Twente – who’s coach Joseph Oosting is desperate for a striker – will be playing Europa League football next term after finishing in third. Four places and 19 points better off than Lammers’ Utrecht.
Mols, meanwhile, cannot shake the feeling of disappointment surrounding his compatriots short-lived stay on Scottish soil, Lammers one of a number of Mick Beale-era signings who struggled to live up to their expensive price-tags.
“I think that is a shame,” Mols says with regards to Lammers’ 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.”
