Hamburg have secured the services of Rangers defender David Bates and the player will officially join the Bundesliga club at the end of the season. According to recent reports, the German club has announced that they have completed the capture of the Scottish centre-back on a four-year deal. The Gers youngster is currently sidelined due to a serious ankle injury and is set to join the Bundesliga outfit on July 1.
Hamburg have announced on their official website that the Scottish starlet will join them on a free transfer in the summer. In a recent interview, the club’s Scouting Director was quoted to have said, “David brings the combination of height, speed, mentality and responsibility, attributes which will be good for the HSV defence.
“He is a down-to-earth guy who wants to actively develop his career and work hard for it.”
Bates signed for the Teddy Bears from Raith Rovers on a loan deal in the summer of 2016 before a permanent move was agreed in 2017. He made his Rangers debut versus Kilmarnock in April 2017 and has put in some impressive performances for the Ibrox-based outfit since then.
The Scottish defender has not featured the Gers since sustaining an injury in their 3-2 defeat in the Old Firm derby back in March.
Rangers are currently sitting in the second position in the Scottish Premiership standings with a tally of 62 points in 33 league matches. They are in dire need of some new players in the summer transfer period in order to help them close the gap to Celtic in the coming years.
The departure of Bates will leave the Gers squad significantly depleted ahead of the new campaign. However, if they can bring in a suitable replacement to fill the void left by his departure, then it might work out for the Glaswegian club.
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The Scotsman has made 17 appearances for the Teddy Bears this season across all competitions but is yet to find the back of the net. Bates is highly versatile and can operate in a number of different positions across the backline. He primarily plays in central defence but can also feature at right-back which makes him a perfect fit for Hamburg. Rangers have the likes of Bruno Alves, Russell Martin and Ross McCrorie vying for a place in Graeme Murty’s first-team. Hence, the transfer of Bates will definitely deplete their squad depth in the off-season. It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of Bates and whether his switch to German football turns out to be a success.
