If a recent report from Record Sport is believed to be true, Rangers have suffered a setback in their attempt to offload Sam Lammers. The Dutchman was expected to join Utrecht on permanent terms after a successful loan, but any potential move has now collapsed due to his wage demands.
The Eredivisie outfit agreed to match the Light Blues’ £2.7m asking fee for the 27-year-old attacker. However, he earns more than €1.5m per year at Ibrox and the highest earner at Utrecht only makes around €500,000. Lammers must accept a significant wage cut to ply his trade to Stadion Galgenwaard. But he is unwilling to do so with three more years left in his Rangers contract.
The former Netherlands international progressed through the youth setup of VOAB, Willem II and PSV. He featured regularly for PSV reserves and impressed on loan at Heerenveen but failed to secure a regular first-team status. Despite completing a €9m (plus €2 add-ons) transfer to Atalanta in September 2020, the centre-forward neither impressed in Bergamo nor on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, Empoli and Sampdoria.
Yet the Gers, under then boss Michael Beale, shelled out £3.5m to secure his services a year ago. But he was hardly tried as an outright ‘number 9’ – a role that saw him firing 11 times in 20 outings since joining Utrecht earlier this year for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Irrespective of his re-establishment in Dutch football, Philippe Clement wants to cash in on Lammers to reinvest in the squad.
“That’s the reality that the board told me a few months ago. I know this. The recruitment team knows this also. This is the reality of the club. I had other expectations when I came in in October, I have to say. But I know the reality now. I am very motivated to build the club and help in that.”
Told the Belgian boss who needs to generate funds from player sales to continue the rebuild.
Why It’s A Significant Blow For Rangers
Rangers spent £4.3m to make Mohamed Diomande’s move permanent. Hamza Igamane cost them £1.7m, also, £0.68m was splashed for Jefté to replace Borna Barisic. But they only earned a six-figure amount from Robby McCrorie’s egress whereas veterans like Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack, Jon McLaughlin and Kemar Roofe left as free agents upon the expiration of their respective contracts. Nothing has progressed so far despite rumoured interest in James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Scott Wright and Todd Cantwell. Also, they were unsuccessful to loan in Joan Jordán after failing to agree on a wage split for the Sevilla midfield ace.
Moreover, the Gers would have to pay a training compensation fee to Aberdeen for Connor Barron at some point, also, a permanent move for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Abdallah Sima would cost them a few million. Lammers’ rejection is set to jeopardize the transfer plans unless the talks revive defying the odds.
