Rangers’ route to Dutch star Joey Veerman may have taken a shock twist after the midfielder saw a modest bid for him rejected from Hellas Verona amidst a price demand of £12M.
The outstanding midfielder, 22, was reported to have chosen Italy as his destination, with the surprise selection of the midtable Serie A side getting to the front of the queue, but the story took an even bigger twist not just with the rejecting of HV’s bid of £4.3M.
No, Veerman’s club, Heerenveen, demanding 2-3 times that, are now under attack from the mid for asking for a ‘crazy’ price for him.
And Veerman isn’t happy at all:
“I think the Italians have made a very reasonable offer, but when I hear what Heerenveen is asking, it can sometimes be a very difficult story. Ten to twelve million, I think that’s crazy. After a corona year with empty stadiums, the money is pretty much gone everywhere. Then I honestly don’t think this makes any sense.”
Clearly £10M+ prices Rangers out categorically, but it also means Veerman is left very unhappy with his present employer and it could open a route in the winter for Steven Gerrard.
The former Volendam man has 3 years left on his deal, but this could be leading to an icy standoff before Heerenveen let him go in January in a cut-price deal.
Either way, it does mean Rangers probably aren’t getting him this summer, and certainly not for the £4M or so we’d have wanted him for.