Rangers legend Ronald de Boer admits he has concerns over Sam Lammers with the £3 million former Serie A misfit hoping to rediscover his Eredivisie form at Ibrox.
Much has been made of Sam Lammers’ outstanding, 19-goal season at Heerenveen in 2018/19, and whether or not he can recapture lightning in a bottle in his new Glasgow home.
Lammers, as De Boer points out, appeared to be ‘one of the biggest talents’ in the Netherlands at the time. There was a reason why Atalanta – a team renowned for their gold-panning, diamond-in-the-rough transfer strategy – were willing to invest a cool £8 million in the Tilburg-born forward.
That, however, was four years ago now.
Was Lammers’ Heerenveen spell merely a flash in the pan? A purple patch? Or an indication as to what Rangers‘ new striker can do if he is offered regular, first-team football, and when trusted to lead the line? For all the criticism that has come Lammers’ way over the last few seasons, there is a limit to what a player can really achieve if he is restricted to cameo appearances off the bench.
De Boer has concerns about exactly where Lammers fits into Mick Beale’s system. And whether a forward who has scored just six goals in the last four years is capable of putting a couple of confidence-sapping seasons behind him.
Rangers pay £3m to sign Sam Lammers from Atalanta
“Sam is a technical player,” De Boer tells the Daily Record. “But where is he going to play? Is he going to play as a number ten? Or will he play with two strikers?”
De Boer believes that, if Rangers are to get the best out of the technically-gifted, elegant Lammers, Beale would benefit from bringing in a more classic number nine to play alongside him; Feyenoord’s Danilo and Cremonese’s Cyriel Dessers seemingly the two leading targets.
“If he wants to play with two strikers, then Danilo is the perfect guy to play with Sam. But, if Dessers if feeling fine, he is an amazing target man,” De Boer adds.
“Sam was one of the biggest talents at PSV Eindhoven and he has a lot of quality. But can he do it? He has the potential but I wouldn’t put money on it. With him, I still have a bit of doubt.”
Rangers have had bids rejected for both Danilo and Dessers; Feyenoord frontman present and past. The Premiership runners-up may have to stump up around £7 million for either player, though it remains to be seen if Beale’s budget stretches that far.
