When Glasgow Rangers won their first Premiership title in a decade during the 2020/21 campaign, it was viewed as a landslide moment in the recent history of the club.
Celtic had gone on to achieve unparalleled domination of Scottish football due to the fact Rangers had been forced to start at the bottom of the professional ladder and although it took a while for the Ibrox side to reach the top, it looked as though it could be the start of something special.
Under Steven Gerrard, the Gers had built a solid squad which ended that league campaign unbeaten, while his team conceded just 13 goals across 38 matches, a British record.
That summer should have seen the Light Blues kick on and vastly improve their first-team squad while condemning Celtic to another season of chaos and in-house fighting which would have allowed Rangers to assert their dominance.
Instead, the club failed to strengthen. Combined with defeat in the Champions League qualifiers, it ensured that they failed to take advantage of their wonderful title-winning season and the truth is, the Gers are still paying for it now.
They could have added some quality players to their ranks during that summer transfer window, and one name sticks out above everyone else’s – Joey Veerman.
Were Rangers close to signing Joey Veerman?
The midfielder had been linked with a move to Glasgow as far back as April 2021 with former Ibrox striker Michael Mols praising his fellow compatriot amid the reports, saying: “I saw the stories linking Joey Veerman with Rangers.
“He’s a really good technical player and a good passer, really good with the ball but I don’t know if Scottish football will suit him.
“Scottish football is more aggressive, like the English Premier League which is physical, so I have a little bit of doubt in my mind.
“I could be completely wrong and maybe I’m not a good judge but that is my opinion. He’s really good with the ball and I would compare him a little bit to Wim Jonk from my time.
“He is perfect with the ball and in possession he’s a really great player. His passing and movement with the ball is really relaxed in a good way.”
Why didn’t Rangers sign Joey Veerman?
The Gers missed out on him during the summer of 2021 and as the campaign progressed, it was clear that the midfield area had gotten rather stagnant over the course of a few months, with the club leaking goals left, right and centre.
A dynamic midfielder such as Veerman would’ve been ideal for the team. Gerrard departed to join Aston Villa in November 2021 and his replacement was Giovanni van Bronckhorst, someone with a vast knowledge of Dutch football. It looked as though this could be key in luring the Heerenveen starlet to Scotland.
|
Joey Veerman’s positions at PSV |
Games |
Goals (via Transfermarkt) |
|---|---|---|
|
Central midfield |
59 |
9 |
|
Attacking midfield |
15 |
5 |
|
Left-winger |
4 |
3 |
|
Defensive midfield |
3 |
1 |
|
Right-winger |
2 |
0 |
It wasn’t to be for Rangers as Veerman ended up joining his boyhood club PSV Eindhoven for a fee of around £5m, which was more than affordable for the club at the time, and considering his success over the previous 18 months at the Dutch side, Van Bronckhorst had a nightmare by failing to secure his signature.
What is Joey Veerman doing now?
It didn’t take long for the Dutchman to show the Ibrox side just what they had missed out on as during his first six months at PSV, he ended up registering 13 goal contributions – six goals and seven assists – across just 24 matches as the club won the Dutch Cup.
This sort of attacking dynamism certainly would’ve given Van Bronckhorst a major boost in the heart of the midfield, and it wasn’t a surprise to see the Light Blues suffer, domestically anyway, failing to beat teams such as Ross County and Motherwell, despite holding leads during their matches.
Veerman kicked his performances up a notch last term, scoring nine times and grabbing 14 assists in all competitions, although PSV were knocked out by the Gers in the playoff round of the Champions League.
The former Herenveen starlet was in wonderful form in the Eredivisie during the 2022/23 season, ranking second across the squad for overall Sofascore rating (7.65), first for big chances created (17) and second again for key passes per game (3.1).
Compare these statistics to the Rangers squad in the Premiership last season and Veerman would’ve ranked first for Sofascore rating, big chances created and key passes per game, clearly suggesting that the club should have splashed out the £5m and brought him to Ibrox.
The 24-year-old is now not only shining domestically but has taken his game to new levels on the continent, and he proved it against the Light Blues last month in what was a repeat of their playoff tie from the season before.
Across the two legs, Veerman scored once, averaged five key passes per game, grabbed two assists and succeeded with 100% of his attempted dribbles in what can only be described as dominating performances in the midfield.
What is Joey Veerman valued at now?
It is perhaps no surprise to see his value rise sharply since his move to the Dutch giants. According to the CIES Football Observatory, the Dutchman is now valued at €30m (£26m) and this marks a stunning rise since the start of 2022, when he joined the club.
The Gers have had a fair few shockers in the transfer market over the previous few years, but missing out on Veerman has to be up there as one of the worst.
Not only would the player have vastly improved the current team, but he wouldn’t have broken the bank either and PSV are now reaping the rewards of taking a gamble and signing him.
His value has soared, and it certainly looks inevitable that he will leave the Eredivisie side in the near future. When he does, Veerman will secure the club a major profit on their initial outlay.
It is a case of what might’ve been for Rangers having missed out on the Dutch talent and Michael Beale will be hoping to avoid scenarios like this in the future, that’s for sure.
