Rangers transfer miss now out of reach reflects on heartbreaking Ibrox release

11/12/2024 09:00 AM

Lewis Ferguson was born into football. He was also born into Rangers.

The Bologna captain has the world at his feet and was being linked with moves to global giants such as Juventus after a brilliant second campaign in Serie A, before disaster struck with a cruciate ligament injury.

He recently made his return to the side who helped qualify for the Champions League with a top four finish in Italy last season.

Ferguson will look to get back to the levels he was at but Rangers fans will always wish he was doing it in blue.

He is the son of former Gers midfielder Derek, the nephew of legendary captain Barry and was on the club’s books as a youngster.

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Lewis Ferguson looks back on Rangers release

Ferguson was in the Rangers system until he was released aged 14 in 2013.

He would go on to be snapped up by Hamilton where he would break into the first team and star at the age of 16, attracting the attention of Aberdeen and going from strength to strength.

He became a Scotland international while still at Pittodrie but it was the move to Italy that really saw his career take off.

Despite all of that success and what likely lies ahead, the memory of being released by his boyhood club will always sting, even though he has used it as motivation since.

He told Serie A uncut: “I was born into football with my uncle and my father. When I was young it was always football in the house. Leaving Rangers was one of the most difficult points in my career. At 14, I was told I wasn’t good enough to play for them.

“It was a club I had strong connections with through my family and it was the team I supported. But I used the disappointment as motivation to prove people wrong. To become a footballer was my dream.

“Coming from a football family helped in terms of if I need to ask questions or in situations they have experience of. I took my own path and really used that disappointment at 14 as motivation to become as good a player as I possibly can.”

Rangers missed chance to sign Ferguson

Rangers arguably had two brilliant chances to sign Ferguson. His uncle Barry has previously told how he would have walked to Ibrox.

At Hamilton, he showed himself as a teenager more than capable of performing in the Scottish Premiership and with plenty of development potential.

Available on a pre-contract and with the Gers connection, you’d think it would have been an easy sell if the club had gone in for him at that point. But it was only Aberdeen who pounced.

The midfielder continued to improve after making the switch and fans saw it as a no-brainer for Rangers to make their move at that point.

The longer the wait went on, the more his transfer value grew and now that he is starring in Serie A and attracting the likes of Juventus, he is way out of reach.

Reflecting on the decision to move to Italy, Ferguson added: “When the interest was there from Bologna back in 2022, I knew Aaron from the Scotland set-up. I was away with the national team at the time when I heard of the interest from Bologna.

“Of course I spoke to Aaron about the move and everything he said was positive. He said what to expect was good people, a good club, great fans, a really nice city – and a football team that can help you grow and become a better player. Everything he said was true, as I have loved it here the last two years.”