Glasgow Rangers have won every single match they have played in so far during 2024, scoring 24 goals and conceding just four times in all competitions as they look to add to their League Cup triumph in December.

There will no doubt be a bump in the road along the way, but Philippe Clement has totally rejuvenated the Light Blues from a side who were trailing Celtic by eight points after seven matches in the Premiership to a club who hold the momentum in the title race.

Much of the Gers early season woes were due to the performances of some of his summer signings. Cyriel Dessers looked dismal in front of goal, while fellow striker Danilo was barely given a chance under Michael Beale.

Dessers has since netted 14 goals and grabbed seven assists, despite his performances remaining inconsistent, while the Brazilian has been struck down with a couple of injuries, indicating his lack of progress.

The duo still have a chance of enjoying some success between now and May, whereas Beale’s other attacking signing from last summer, Sam Lammers, proved to be one of the poorest additions to the squad in numerous years.

How much Rangers paid for Sam Lammers

After ending the 2022/23 season trophyless, Beale splurged money on various summer signings which he hoped would end Celtic’s recent hegemony of the Scottish game.

Indeed, Dessers and Danilo were brought in from Cremonese and Feyenoord, while Lammers was one of his earliest signings, costing around £3m from Italian side Atalanta.

With the Gers losing the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Antonio Colak during the off-season, Beale needed to add some extra firepower to the squad, yet Lammers looked like a strange signing.

The forward had scored a grand total of four games throughout the previous two full seasons, yet he failed to deliver and netted just twice in 31 matches for the club.

Towards the end of the year, his former PSV Eindhoven youth coach Kevin Hofland did praise the forward despite his recent struggles, while comparisons to a former Dutch icon were also prevalent during his earlier career.

"I worked with Sam all three seasons he was with PSV,” said Hofland. “He scored a lot of goals, he could score easily, with both feet and his head.

"In terms of technical ability I never saw anyone like him. There was no one at PSV who had any doubts that he would have a professional career. In the Netherlands, newspapers compared him to Ruud van Nistelrooy. But at the club we didn't put him under that pressure.”

His spell at Eredivisie side Heerenveen – coincidently where Van Nistelrooy played during the early stages of his career – saw him perhaps channel the qualities which made the former Manchester United striker such a force of nature, as he scored 19 goals in 35 matches across all competitions.

Since leaving Heerenveen, however, Lammers has failed to enjoy these sorts of goal returns and, despite Beale playing the Dutchman slightly deeper in an attacking midfield role, the consensus was that he could be an ideal signing.

Just six months later, he secured a loan move to FC Utrecht amid a terrible opening half to the season for the Glasgow side.

Sam Lammers' statistics at Rangers

If scoring just two goals in 17 matches wasn’t good enough for the club, his constant anonymous displays began to cost the club points, especially under Beale.

He started just ten Premiership matches and, among his teammates, the former Atalanta player ranked seventh for goals and assists (three) in the top flight, while also ranking fourth for shots on target per game (0.9), 17th for big chances created (one) and 26th for key passes per game (0.3), proving that he was not only wasteful with his shots, but also failed to create anywhere near the volume of chances his transfer fee indicated.

Whole matches largely passed him by and under Clement, Lammers managed to score just one goal and grab one assist, while starting a grand total of eight matches, yet this was arguably due to the Belgian manager dealing with an injury crisis in his midfield.

Sam Lammers is now starring for Utrecht

After signing Fabio Silva on loan, Lammers was soon sent back to his homeland on a temporary deal until the end of the season, and he has already registered more goal contributions in just six games for his new club, as he did in 31 for Rangers.

Indeed, the 26-year-old has scored once and chipped in with three assists, including setting up a goal against league leaders PSV.

Lammers has already created five big chances, averaged two key passes per game and taken more shots on target per game (1.3) than he did during the first half of the season at the Light Blues and perhaps playing at this level suits him better.

Despite this improved level of performance, Clement looks like he is already working on a summer exit for the player.

He could well be in line for a move to fellow Eredivisie club FC Twente following his displays since moving back to his homeland next month and a fee of £2.5m is being touted for his potential exit.

This would see the Light Blues recoup nearly all the £3m fee they shelled out to sign him last year, and it could prove to be an excellent piece of transfer business.

1

2

3

1

2

0.3

5

1

1.3

0.9

There is no doubting that Lammers is a wonderful player, but playing in Scotland simply did not suit his style whatsoever.

He has clearly expressed his creative talents in the Dutch top flight and securing a fee for the forward could allow Clement to make a few signings of his own ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

From being compared to Van Nistelrooy to netting just twice for Rangers proves that the £18k-per-week Dutchman did not quite have the same impact as many predicted when he joined under Beale.

Hopefully Clement does not make the same mistakes as his predecessor did in the transfer window, but judging by his first three signings, the Ibrox side could look forward to an exciting summer.