Rangers sign Sam Lammers - Beale's key trip to Italy, length of deal, why club is 'ahead of schedule' on transfers'

Rangers are “ahead of schedule” with their summer recruitment plans after Dutch forward Sam Lammers became the club’s fourth signing of the current transfer window.

New Rangers signing Sam Lammers spent the second half of last season on loan at Sampdoria.

The 26-year-old has penned a four-year deal after Rangers agreed a fee, believed to be in the region of £3million, with Serie A outfit Atalanta. Lammers joins goalkeeper Jack Butland, defender Dujon Sterling and midfielder Kieran Dowell through the door at Ibrox as Michael Beale continues to overhaul his first-team squad, with the manager revealing that the Glasgow outfit have surpassed their own expectations on transfers at this point and that more arrivals can be expected in the coming weeks.

A product of PSV’s youth academy in his homeland, Lammers spent last season on loan at Empoli and Sampdoria after falling down the pecking order at Atalanta. The 6ft 3in attacker was part of the Eintracht Frankfurt squad that defeated Rangers in the Europa League final a year ago and is able to play across the front line.

“Sam is a player I have been aware of for a number of years,” said Beale. “I first knew him as a young player at PSV and have followed his career closely from afar and he excelled in Holland both in the Eredivisie and the under-21 national team. Sam will give us great technical and tactical quality, being able to play in a variety of attacking positions as a No 10 or 9.

"He was the first player I met with as part of the planning for the new season and during our lengthy discussions, it was clear that we share the same ideas on football and on his personal development moving forward. He has a strong alignment to the other players in our squad. Having recently turned 26, he brings a wealth of experience having already played in the top leagues in Holland, Germany and Italy. We are delighted he is joining us at Rangers and I’m looking forward to working closely with him.

Assessing the transfer window so far, Beale added: “I am delighted with our progress so far in this summer transfer window. We have worked extremely well to recruit Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell and Sam Lammers. We are ahead of schedule in our plans. The coming weeks will see more trading both in and out of the squad as we prepare for the season ahead. We have key areas of focus and we are close to securing our targets in those positions.”

Lammers revealed that Beale travelled to Italy to convince him to join Rangers and said that the manager’s vision for the future sold him on a move to Scotland. “I am really excited to join Rangers, my first impressions have all been good so I am even more excited for the season to start now,” the said. “I came in contact with the manager and he came over to see me in Italy, we had a good talk and he gave me a presentation about the club and about how I could fit in so ever since that moment I was excited for this project and to get here. I already knew some things about Rangers, I know the history, I know it is a massive club in Scotland and also worldwide but it is always a good thing to have the personal side of it.”