Rangers have completed the signing of Sam Lammers from Atalanta for around £3m. The 26-year-old, who has agreed to a four-year contract, joins Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, and Kieran Dowell as the club’s fourth summer additions at Ibrox. Prior to spending time on loan at Italian teams Sampdoria and Empoli, Lammers was an unused substitute when Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers in the Europa League final the previous season. Lammers will wear the number 14 shirt left vacant by Ryan Kent.
“Since my initial thoughts of Rangers have been positive, I am even more eager for the new season to begin,” Sam Lammers said. “I made contact with the manager, who then flew to Italy to visit me. We had a fantastic conversation, and he gave me a presentation about the club and how I could fit in. From that point on, I was eager to start the project and go here. I already knew a few facts about Rangers, like its history and that it is a very popular club both in Scotland and internationally, but learning more about its distinct culture is always a plus.”
“I’ve known about Sam as a player for a while now. I got to know him when he was a young player at PSV and have closely followed his career ever since. He was a star in Holland for both the under-21 national team and the Eredivisie,” Rangers boss Michael Beale said. “Sam, who can play as a number 10 or nine and in a variety of offensive situations, will provide us outstanding technical and tactical qualities. He was the first player I spoke with as part of the preparation for the next season, and after our in-depth conversation, it became evident that we had similar views on both football and his future personal growth. He is well aligned with the other members of our team.”
Beale, the manager of Rangers, hopes to close agreements on most of his targets before the start of preseason training at the end of June. The Ibrox club is still in contact with Cremonese, as was previously reported, after making an initial offer for forward Cyriel Dessers. There is still a lot of work to be done in order to conclude a deal for the midfielder, but interest is still there in Los Angeles FC’s Jose Cifuentes and Jonathan Panzo of Nottingham Forest. The club is said to be open to bids for Glen Kamara and Scott Wright in addition to a number of other new arrivals anticipated this summer.
“I’m thrilled with how this summer’s transfer window has gone thus far for us. To bring on board Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell, and Sam Lammers, we have worked really hard. Our plans are completed earlier than expected,” he added. “As we get ready for the new season, there will be additional roster changes in the upcoming weeks. We are almost done securing our goals in those jobs in our primary emphasis regions.”
Beale has been open about his intention to bolster his roster before the players report for preseason practice. He believes that hiring new players will be crucial to his team’s ability to catch Celtic in the next campaign.
“We begin how we intend to end, with our approach being very clear and our intensity on the pitch being quite high in terms of pushing and the bits out of possession,” Beale said looking forward to next season. “In order to build on this spine, we’ll want to hire players who will be able to commit to the Rangers for the next three to five years. You’ve already witnessed Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin’s entrance as the beginning of it. With a little bit of experience, but definitely in terms of quality in the last third, we’ll try to improve on that. Whether I was successful in obtaining everyone I wanted will be evident by the look on my face when preseason begins, but in either case, we’ll enter preseason the next year with a few fresh ideas that I’ve wanted to try out. For that, we need to go find a specific kind of player. We’ll recover more powerfully.”
For more football news, click here
