‘It’s Going To Happen’ – Expert: Rangers reach agreement with Ibrox star man to leave

The Bologna midfielder is back in Glasgow after Scotland’s defeat to Switzerland, and he has reopened a story Rangers supporters thought had ended in the summer

A night after Scotland were beaten 3-0 at Hampden, the most talked-about subject in Scottish football was not the result. It was a midfielder, the club he grew up supporting, and a transfer that one of the country’s best-connected football writers believes can no longer be avoided.

Mark Guidi, chief football writer at the Sunday Mail, says he is certain Lewis Ferguson will sign for Rangers at some point. What he is less sure about is when. Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, he argued that the move now feels inevitable, whether it comes in January, next summer, or further down the line.

The timing of his comments is no accident. Ferguson has just spent a week with the national team in Scotland, speaking to the media, and what he said about Rangers did nothing to quieten the speculation. This piece looks at what was said, why it matters, what stands in the way, and why the story is unlikely to go away.

Ferguson was involved in Scotland’s 3-0 defeat to Switzerland on Tuesday night, and it was an evening to forget for everyone in dark blue. Jack Hendry was sent off inside the first ten minutes after VAR decided his foul on Dan Ndoye had taken place outside the penalty area. A penalty that might have been saved turned into a red card and a free-kick, and Ricardo Rodriguez curled that free-kick into the top corner before the game had properly settled. Two more goals followed in the second half, and Sebastien Pocognoli’s first home match as head coach became a long, uphill struggle.

For a central midfielder, those are punishing circumstances. A team reduced to ten men spends most of the night without the ball. The role shifts from creating to covering, from shaping the game to surviving it. Nobody should judge a player’s quality on a night like that.

Yet Ferguson’s name dominated the conversation afterwards, and the reason had nothing to do with what happened on the pitch. It had to do with what he had said in the days around the match, and what it implied about where his career might be heading

According to the report, Ferguson spoke publicly about his “dream” of playing for Rangers and declined to rule out a move in the future.

That is worth pausing on. When footballers are asked about interest from other clubs, the usual response is a polite deflection: they are focused on their current team, they are happy where they are, they will see what the future brings. Ferguson did not do that. He did not say a move would happen, and he did not say it would not. He simply left the door open and spoke warmly about the idea.

For a man whose loyalties are well known, that was more than enough. Supporters and journalists hear a conversation like that and begin to read between the lines. A player who describes something as a dream is not describing an outcome he would turn down

Part of the reason this story carries such emotional weight is the family connection. It is no secret that Ferguson is a Rangers supporter. His father Derek and his uncle Barry both represented the club, and Barry Ferguson in particular is a figure of enormous standing at Ibrox. He captained the side, and he is currently managing the Rangers legends squad at this weekend’s revived Tennent’s Sixes at Braehead Arena. That coincidence has put the Ferguson name back in front of supporters at precisely the moment Lewis’s comments were making headlines.

Lewis was also on the books at Rangers as a youngster before being released. This is the detail that gives the story its romance. A player let go by the club he supported, who then built a career elsewhere and reached a high level in one of Europe’s strongest leagues, is exactly the kind of figure supporters want to see come home. The idea of the one who got away returning on his own terms is a powerful one, and it explains why the link with Ibrox has refused to fade.

It also helps explain why the possibility feels more credible than a typical transfer rumour. Rumours about players moving to clubs they have no connection to can appear and vanish in a day. A rumour that connects a player to the club his family played for, and which he himself describes as a dream, has a different quality. It has a story behind it

Guidi’s case rests on three ideas: the player’s own wishes, the apparent situation at his current club, and the practical question of how Rangers could afford him.

The simplest part of the argument is that Ferguson wants this to happen. In Guidi’s words, it is a case of when, not if. That matters because transfers depend on more than money. A player who is determined to go somewhere creates momentum that selling clubs find hard to resist, and a player who is lukewarm can quietly kill a deal.

Ferguson is a regular for Scotland and plays in a top European league, which means he has plenty of options. Choosing to speak so warmly about a club in a domestic league is a deliberate statement. It is not what a player does when he is indifferent.

The second part of Guidi’s argument is more interpretive. Listening to Ferguson speak, he said, it sounds as if things at Bologna are not as smooth as they once were, and he was careful to add that he meant the club as a whole, not just the player. He also suggested Ferguson may already have had his best years in terms of what the club can do for him and what he can do for the club.

This is a judgement rather than a reported fact, and it should be treated that way. Journalists who follow a player closely often pick up on tone and emphasis, and Guidi’s reading may well be informed. But he is offering an impression, not a confirmed development. Bologna have not said anything of the sort, and Ferguson has not complained publicly. Still, if the natural cycle of a player’s time at a club is coming towards its end, then the question of where he goes next becomes live

The final strand is the practical one, and it is where the headline’s word “inevitable” needs a careful footnote. Guidi was clear that the move might not be Ferguson’s next one. It could be the one after that.

His reasoning is that Rangers would first need to get their model of selling players and reinvesting the proceeds moving more quickly. In other words, a transfer of this size from a Serie A club cannot be funded on wishful thinking. It needs a pipeline of sales that generate the cash to make such a purchase possible.

His certainty is therefore about the destination, not the date. He believes Ferguson will sign for Rangers at some stage, possibly directly from Bologna, but he recognises that Rangers have work to do before that becomes realistic

To understand why the story eeps coming back, it helps to revisit the last transfer window. Rangers were linked with an ambitious move for Ferguson, and for a time it appeared to have genuine momentum. Reports at the time suggested that persuading Bologna to sell would cost somewhere between £15 million and £20 million, a considerable sum for a club that had just rebuilt its entire squad.

The deal also had an obvious human angle. Derek McInnes, the Rangers head coach, had managed Ferguson at Aberdeen, so a reunion would have brought together a manager and a player who know each other well. That kind of trust is valuable in football. A coach who has seen a player’s habits, strengths and temperament over many months is far more likely to build around him with confidence.

In the end, the move did not happen. Rangers could not find a way to make it work, and the window closed. But the failed pursuit left a lingering sense of unfinished business, and that feeling has been driving the story ever since

The club did not stand still. After McInnes’ arrival, Rangers brought in 14 players in a wholesale overhaul of the squad. In central midfield specifically, the engine room was strengthened with the arrivals of Dan Neil, Cammy Devlin and Vanja Dragojevic.

There was also the case of Nicolas Raskin. The Belgian had been widely tipped to leave, with Roma named as the most likely destination at one stage after his impressive performances at the World Cup. McInnes acknowledged that interest was likely, but Raskin stayed.

The result is a midfield with real depth and variety. That is important for understanding the Ferguson question, because it means Rangers would not be signing him out of desperation. The argument for him is not that the squad is short of options. It is that a player of his quality and experience could lift a group that is already competent into something more ambitious.

There is also a strategic point. The best transfer business is usually done from a position of strength. A club that is forced to buy because of an emergency tends to overpay or compromise. A club that can choose its moment, and that has already sold well to fund the next purchase, is in a far better position to negotiate.

Set the mechanics aside and the footballing argument is easy to make. Ibrox News described him as a proven performer in one of the strongest leagues in the world and a regular on the international scene for Scotland. Players who have operated at that level bring something that is hard to coach: the ability to handle pressure, to make good decisions quickly and to maintain standards week after week.

In a Rangers squad that has been largely rebuilt, a midfielder like that would offer several things.Leadership.A newly assembled team needs figures who set the tone. A player with Ferguson’s profile, and with his emotional connection to the club, could provide that quickly.

Quality in possession. Against opponents who sit deep and refuse to open up, the ability to move the ball intelligently through central areas is invaluable. Rangers’ recent challenge has been the question of how to break down stubborn defences, and midfield control is central to the answer.A link to McInnes.The head coach knows the player and trusts him. That shortens the learning curve and gives the manager a reliable reference point in the dressing room.

Symbolic value. Supporters respond to players who clearly care. A lifelong fan returning to the club would carry a significance beyond statistics, and that kind of connection often shows in performances during tense moments.

This is where a healthy dose of scepticism is needed. Several conditions would need to be met for a deal to happen in the winter, and none of them is guaranteed.

The pprice.l The summer figure of £15 million to £20 million is unlikely to have dropped. If Bologna remain unwilling to sell for less, Rangers would need to find a substantial sum in the middle of a season, when transfer budgets are typically tighter.

The selling model. Guidi’s central condition is that Rangers must first generate income through sales. If someone valuable is sold in January or before, the way opens up. If nobody is, the money may simply not be available.

The player’s situation. If circumstances at Bologna really have become less settled, Ferguson might push for a move. But he could equally decide to stay, particularly if he is playing regularly and the club’s fortunes improve. The competition. A midfielder of his calibre will not be of interest only to Rangers. If other clubs with greater financial muscle enter the picture, the situation could change quickly.

None of this makes a deal impossible. It means the gap between “inevitable” and “imminent” is wide. Guidi himself acknowledged that the move might be one or two steps down the line, and that is a sensible reading of the evidence.

It is important to keep the story in perspective. Guidi’s comments are an opinion offered on a radio show. They are well informed and come from a respected journalist, but they are not a report that a deal is close, and the phrase “absolutely certain” refers to an eventual outcome rather than a confirmed plan.

History is full of transfers that seemed destined to happen and never did. Circumstances change. Players sign new contracts, injuries intervene, managers leave, and clubs reassess their priorities. A romantic return can feel certain right up to the moment it collapses.

It is also worth noting that Ferguson’s own words fall short of a declaration. Describing something as a dream and refusing to rule it out is not the same as saying he will make it happen. Players say things like this for many reasons, including simple honesty about their feelings, and it would be a mistake to treat every comment as a signal.

Yet the number of threads pointing in the same direction is hard to ignore. The family history, the childhood connection, the manager who knows him, the unsuccessful summer pursuit, the player’s own warm words and a journalist’s firm belief all converge on the same conclusion. When that many indicators align, even a cautious observer would accept that the story has more substance than most.

Over the coming months, a few developments will shape how this plays out.Bologna’s season.If the club’s form dips or the mood around the squad worsens, the case for a move strengthens. If things improve, Ferguson may feel less urgency.

Rangers’ sales. The club’s ability to sell players at a profit is the key variable in Guidi’s analysis. Any significant outgoing deal would be a signal that the budget is growing.

Ferguson’s comments. Every interview he gives will be scrutinised. A shift in tone, either more definite or more guarded, would tell supporters a good deal.

McInnes’ remarks.The head coach is unlikely to say anything on the record about a player contracted elsewhere, but any hint of his priorities for the winter window will be revealing.

Scotland duty. With Ferguson in and out of the national team, he will keep returning to Scotland and will keep being asked. The questions will not stop

Few stories in Scottish football carry the emotional charge of a boyhood supporter returning to the club that once let him go. Lewis Ferguson’s name has been attached to Rangers for months, and a week of international duty in Glasgow has given the story fresh life.

Mark Guidi’s verdict is unambiguous: it will happen, though perhaps not as the next step. His reasoning is persuasive. It rests on a player who has openly spoken about his dream, a situation at Bologna that appears to be cooling, and the long-term logic of a club that needs to find its footing in the transfer market.

The sticking point remains money. Until Rangers can show that their cycle of buying, developing and selling works well enough to fund a deal in the region of £15 million to £20 million, the move will remain a question of when rather than if. Whether that “when” is January, next summer or somewhere further off, Guidi is not wavering.

For Rangers supporters, the sensible attitude is patience. If he is right, the move will come when the conditions are in place, and it will be all the sweeter for the wait. If he is wrong, there is no harm in the dream. And for a player who has made no secret of what the club means to him, the fact that he is willing to say so out loud may be the most encouraging sign of al