Steven Gerrard’s reported hopes of bringing Heerenveen midfielder Joey Veerman to Ibrox this summer look to have been handed a huge boost after the Eredivisie club’s captain confirmed that the 22-year-old was likely to leave ahead of next season, with Rangers name-checked as a potential destination for the Dutchman.
Rangers have been heavily linked with a move for the youngster in recent weeks and it now seems likely that he will be on the move in the upcoming transfer window.
Should Rangers sign Veerman?
Yes
No
Heerenveen club captain Henk Veerman spoke to Dutch paper Voetbalprimeur recently, saying: “I’ve read things about Atalanta, Rangers, PSV, Ajax and AZ.
“I expect him to go to one of those clubs. I also think that Joey will add value for any club in the Netherlands.
”If things change enormously (at the club). That is a serious problem for me.”
Veerman clearly rates his younger namesake highly and believes that he will be on the move this summer, which is no surprise after his superb performances in the Eredivisie this season.
In 31 Dutch top-flight appearances, the midfielder has contributed an impressive seven goals and 10 assists, which has helped him earn an excellent 7.40 rating from WhoScored.
If he had produced the same level of performance in Gerrard’s Rangers side this season, he would be ranked as their joint-second best performer alongside Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo, which emphasises just how impressive he has been for Heerenveen.
The £7.65m-rated midfielder certainly won’t come cheap, but if Gerrard wants to add players with genuine Champions League quality ahead of next season, then Veerman may well be his best bet.
Therefore, after this latest boost, Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson should act quickly to ensure that Ibrox is Veerman’s summer destination, as otherwise they risk missing out on a “really good” player (in the words of Michael Mols) with obvious potential to Champions League rivals such as Atalanta or Ajax.
In other news… Wilson can deliver Gerrard a Rangers “masterstroke” with summer swoop for 21 y/o gem