There has been some high drama surrounding Rangers-linked Joey Veerman as the player appeals to leave current club Heerenveen with the Dutch side linked to a replacement
Midfielder Veerman, 22, has been extensively linked to Ibrox all summer and there was some talk of a £7m package being put forward by the Light Blues [Glasgow Times].
However, this was prior to the club’s untimely Champions League exit which sees the Gers miss out on a sizeable £30m+ jackpot.
Since then, Rangers have also moved to sign Huddersfield Town midfielder Juninho Bacuna who joins the club on a two-year deal and enters a competitive midfield area.
Despite all of this, the Gers continue to be mentioned alongside Veerman whose name is certainly one which piques the interest of Rangers fans.
So far this summer Joey Veerman has been linked with the likes of Atalanta and Verona in Italy as well as Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.
The manager of Celtic’s Europa League adversaries AZ Alkmaar has also thrown the Dutch club’s name into the ring regarding high-profile Rangers target Joey Veerman.
As AZ prepare to face off against Celtic for a place in the Europa League, AZ manager Pascal Jansen has admitted he’s a fan of the player – but not at the price currently quoted.
“I think Joey is a very good player. Whether we can pay him? I really don’t know,” said Jansen [Fean Online].
“I say that I think that is a very good player. But no more than that.”
That price was said to be somewhere in the region of £8m and Veerman himself has recently been claiming he’ll be “sick” if he doesn’t leave Heerenveen this summer.
The midfielder has made no bones about his desire to leave even if he’s provided two assists in two Eredivisie games this season.
“Am I busy with the approaching deadline of the transfer market? Of course,” said Veerman [Fean Online].
“We are working on that, but I don’t get the feeling that Heerenveen wants to lose me at the moment.
“You often hear that there is interest and I know that Hellas Verona has made an offer of five million euros.
“I don’t think Heerenveen has that looked at it. That does indicate that they are asking quite a few millions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3oXqrl6vPg
“I still have ten days, it can still go either way. We have to wait and see.
“I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be sick of not making a transfer this summer.”
But as Heerenveen enter the final furlong of the window – and teams start to move a little more money around – does one report suggest they’re preparing for life without Veerman?
According to Voetbal International, the Eredivisie side are “interested” in signing Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg.
Berg is the Norwegian champions crown jewel and a very similar player to Joey Veerman so if reports are to be believed, this could be a contingency plan should the Dutchman leave.
That same report suggests that Glimt have already rejected offers of €2m from Greece and Turkey for the midfielder so if Heerenveen want Berg, they’ll need to stump up.
It’s all very interesting and we’re sure this won’t be the last time you hear Veerman’s name mentioned alongside Rangers as the transfer window prepares to – wait for it – slam shut.
Recognise the name Patrick Berg? That’s because he was being named alongside Rangers not so long ago.
