Glasgow Rangers head into the summer transfer window facing yet another rebuild, as Philippe Clement will be looking to bring in his own signings, all while shipping out several underperformers.
Six players are out of contract once the season finishes, which will see the Light Blues free up some of the wage bill for some potential signings, but the Belgian has a massive job in front of him.
The 50-year-old may have to move on a player or two in order to raise significant funds, as Michael Beale’s lavish spending spree last summer has set the club back financially.
Cyriel Dessers cost around £4.5m and while he has netted 17 goals since arriving, his performances have often been dismal, going long stretches without looking like finding the back of the net.
Danilo was another extravagant purchase. The Brazilian cost £6m, although the jury is still out on him as he has missed 31 matches due to injury.
It was the signing of Sam Lammers which has proven to be the biggest waste of money, however, as the Dutchman failed to justify his transfer fee during the first half of the season.
How much Rangers paid for Sam Lammers
Having lost players such as Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, and Scott Arfield – who contributed 42 goal involvements between them – it was clear Beale had to bolster his attacking options.
This saw him splash money on Dessers and Danilo, but before the pair joined, it was Lammers who was first to make the move to Ibrox.
Rangers agreed a fee of £3m to lure him from Serie A side Atalanta in June. Having scored only six goals across the previous three seasons, the warning signs were there that Beale wasn’t going to be signing a prolific goalscorer.
Player
Club signed from
Danilo
Feyenoord
Cyriel Dessers
Cremonese
Sam Lammers
Atalanta
Jose Cifuentes
Los Angeles FC
Kieran Dowell
Norwich City
Dujon Sterling
Chelsea U21
Jack Butland
Crystal Palace
Leon Balogun
QPR
Abdallah Sima
Brighton (loan)
During his first six months at Ibrox, Lammers was often played as a number ten, being shoehorned into a position that clearly didn’t attune to his talents.
Sam Lammers’ statistics at Rangers
The former Feyenoord forward scored against Newcastle in pre-season in what was his first game for the Light Blues, looking sharp in the process.
His display meant Beale was going to utilise him in a slightly deeper role rather than as a centre-forward, but it failed to pay off.
Across 31 games for the Gers, Lammers found the back of the net only twice, while registering a further two assists, hardly the numbers which justified a £3m transfer fee.
Among his teammates, the 26-year-old ranked just ninth for goals and assists (three) in the top flight, while also ranking fourth for big chances missed (six), 18th for big chances created (one), 25th for key passes per game (0.3) and fourth for successful dribbles per game (1.1), hardly stats worthy of a starting spot in the team.
Despite Beale being sacked following a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen, Clement persisted with Lammers, largely due to the fact he was still assessing his entire squad, meaning every player was given a clean slate.
The Dutchman enjoyed his finest performance during a clash against Dundee at the start of November, registering 50% of his total goal contributions for the club in the game.
Operating behind Danilo, Lammers also created one big chance and made one key pass during the game, while succeeding with two of his three dribble attempts, and it certainly looked like it could be a major turning point for him.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, going goalless in his final nine matches for the Ibrox side prior to the winter break.
Sam Lammers record at FC Utrecht
With his chances limited, the forward opted to move back to his homeland in order to join Utrecht on a loan deal until the end of the campaign.
It has proven to be a wonderful choice, with Lammers being used as a centre-forward rather than a number ten.
He has played just 14 games for the club yet has scored eight goals and grabbed three assists. Not only that, but Lammers netted in six consecutive Eredivisie matches, equalling a 40 year old club record in the process.
This is certainly not the player Clement saw at Ibrox, perhaps suggesting that the pressure was too much, while he was played out of position in an attacking midfield role far too often.
If the club receive an offer from the Dutch side to take him on a permanent deal, Clement should take it, as he could use the funds to bring in one or two of his own signings this summer.
His six months at Ibrox have cost the Gers a pretty penny, however.
How much Sam Lammers earned at Rangers
Upon moving to Scotland, the player was given a four-year contract, earning £18k-per-week, which saw him earn more than Abdallah Sima, Ridvan Yilmaz and John Souttar to name but a few.
After a few months, it was evident that this was far too high a wage to be paying for someone who was regularly delivering woeful performances and once he was shipped out on loan, Utrecht began to pay his weekly salary.
Over the course of his first six months though, Lammers cost the Light Blues £3.5m. Combining his £3m transfer fee plus the £500k he earned in wages, which culminated in him scoring just twice for the club.
It was yet another case of acting too quickly in the transfer market and splurging money on a player who was unlikely to generate a profit upon leaving the Light Blues.
Thankfully, his displays for Utrecht could convince them, or perhaps another Eredivisie side to take a punt on him this summer, allowing Rangers to potentially recoup their outlay from last summer.
Wasting £3.5m is terrible from a financial perspective and this could severely limit Clement’s spending in the forthcoming transfer window, especially considering he badly needs to sign a few players.
Under the shrewd leadership of the Belgian coach, signings like Lammers will hopefully be a thing of the past, with the transfer ethos going forward focusing on younger talents who could generate a significant profit in the future.
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