Glasgow Rangers underwent something of a rebuild during the summer transfer window as Philippe Clement allowed several first-team stars to depart Ibrox while bringing in quite a few new players.
Out went the likes of Connor Goldson, Todd Cantwell, Sam Lammers, Scott Wright and Robby McCrorie as the Belgian sought to stamp his authority on his squad.
Not much was known about the transfer fees that the Light Blues brought in for these five players, but recently, chief financial officer James Taylor confirmed at the AGM that the figure was £800k.
Not just for one player, but for all five. An incredible revelation and proves just how poorly the club has been run in recent years.
Lammers is a prime example. He cost around £3m from Atalanta in the summer of 2023 as Michael Beale was looking to bolster his team.
He left after just a year, but it is evident given Taylor’s comments that the club lost a massive amount of money on the Dutchman.
Sam Lammers’ statistics at Rangers
Given that Lammers had scored a grand total of six goals across the previous three seasons for four different clubs, it was hardly the form of a player who was meant to spearhead a title challenge.
Between August and January, Lammers played 31 times for the Light Blues, yet managed to get on the scoresheet just twice, while adding two assists. It became clear that Beale had wasted millions on a player who lacked the physical nature to shine in Scottish football.
In the Premiership, Lammers created only one big chance in 17 matches, also averaging 0.3 key passes and succeeding with 1.1 dribbles per game. Beale preferred to utilise the Dutchman in an attacking midfield slot, believing that his technical ability could cut through defences.
Unfortunately, this tactical blueprint didn’t quite work out, and he was loaned to FC Utrecht in January.
Whatever was lacking in Scotland finally emerged during his spell in the Eredivisie, as he scored 11 goals and provided four assists in just 20 matches for the club in what was a stunning turnaround in form during the second half of the season.
Any notion that he might make it at Ibrox was quelled when Clement sold him to Twente during the summer. This allowed the manager to get high wages off the bill while giving him space to bring in another player.
|
Sam Lammers’ Rangers stats – 2023/24 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Metric |
Europa League |
Premiership |
|
Goals |
0 |
2 |
|
Assists |
0 |
1 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
1 |
|
Total shots per 90 |
1.2 |
2.5 |
|
Key passes per 90 |
1 |
0.3 |
|
Via Sofascore |
||
So far, however, the 27-year-old has been in the form of his life back in his homeland, emerging as one of the finest players in the Dutch top flight.
Sam Lammers’ form after leaving Rangers behind
The attacker is certainly continuing the form he displayed last year into the current campaign for his new side.
While he may not have led them into the Champions League group stages, Twente are currently taking part in the Europa League, where the forward has scored twice in five games.
Domestically, however, is where Lammers is showcasing his finest form, that’s for sure.
In 15 matches for Twente, the former Rangers player has netted six times along with chipping in with two assists, propelling the club to fifth place in the league table at the time of writing.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Not only does he rank second in the squad for goals and assists in the top flight, but Lammers also ranks second for shots (2.8), ninth for key passes (0.8) and fifth for successful dribbles per game (0.5) along with ranking second for big chances created (four), indicating just how impressive a signing he has been.
Journalist Jonny McFarlane dubbed the move that brought Lammers to Scotland in 2023 as a “baffling deal” recently amid his form in the Netherlands.
Of course, Lammers wasn’t anywhere at the level required to perform for a club the size of Rangers, but perhaps his attributes simply weren’t suited to Scottish football.
As he has proven since the start of the year, the striker is not a bad player, far from it, but his move to the Light Blues was certainly a case of the wrong player at the wrong time.
His displays after leaving mean that the forward is now similar to a player who made a big-money move in the summer and was even touted for a £35m move to Chelsea; Samu Omorodion.
The youngster didn’t end up moving to London, joining Porto instead in a deal worth around £12.7m, which appears to be a stunning bargain given his current form and potential to get even better.
Now boasting an £85m release clause, the Spaniard has been good value for that price tag having scored 14 goals across 17 games, along with grabbing one assist in what has been an impressive start to life in Portugal.
According to FBref, Omorodion is the fifth-most comparable player to Lammers in the Europa League this term.
The pair have also registered similar statistics with regard to various performance metrics in the Champions League’s sister competition, such as goals and assists (2 vs 4), shots per 90 (2.68 vs 2.57), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.68 vs 3.42), goal-creating actions (2 vs 1) and touches in the attacking penalty area (24 vs 25).
These statistics prove that if the ex-Rangers man can continue performing well at this level, he could increase his market value substantially and finally realise his vast potential.
Although the forward didn’t live up to expectations during his spell in Scotland, Lammers is now proving plenty of people wrong back in his homeland.
Who knows, these displays this term might just see him secure another move to a top-five European league next summer. At 27, there is still plenty of life left in him yet.
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Jose Mourinho admires him greatly as a player.
