Rangers announce signing of Sam Lammers from Atalanta as striker pens on four-year-deal

Rangers have confirmed the signing of Dutch striker Sam Lammers from Italian side Atalanta on a four-year-deal, subject to international clearance.

The 26-year-old becomes Michael Beale’s fourth signing of the summer transfer window, following the recent arrivals of Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling and Jack Butland.

Lammer will inherit the No.14 shirt - previously worn by Ryan Kent - with the Ibrox club shelving out £3.5million to secure the versatile attacker’s signature from the Serie A outfit.

A product of PSV Eindhoven’s youth academy, Lammers has gained valuable first-team experience in some of Europe’s top domestic leagues such as the Dutch Erediviside, German Bundesliga and most recently in Italy where he moved to Atalanta for around £9m before having loan spells at Eintracht Frankfurt, Empoli and Sampdoria.

Commenting on his decision to join Rangers, Lammers told the club’s official website: “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.

“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.

Manager Michael Beale, back in Glasgow after his family holiday, commented: “Sam is a player I have been aware of for a number of years. 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 number 10 or nine. 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.

On the club’s recruitment so far during the close-season, Beale stated: “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.”

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.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.