Good enough for Serie A but not good enough for Rangers amid £10M spend | OneFootball

Rangers fans cannot help but look at Jamie Vardy’s move to Cremonese and ask serious questions. Jamie Vardy’s Premier League experience should have been a decisive factor when Rangers elected to spend £10m on an untried striker. Instead, Jamie Vardy’s Premier League experience counted for nothing at Ibrox, even though the club desperately needs proven pedigree. Now Jamie Vardy’s Premier League experience is Italy’s gain, not Scotland’s, as Serie A welcomes a man still hungry to prove himself.

The decision to spend

Rangers laid out £10m on a forward with no proven record in England. That gamble shocked many fans because the club needs goals right now. Supporters have watched new arrivals struggle with the pace and pressure at Ibrox. In contrast Vardy was available, motivated and eager to show he could still perform. Instead the board ignored him. The decision highlighted once again how the club takes huge risks on raw talent while bypassing experience that could make a difference immediately.

Italy sees value

What makes this even harder to understand is Cremonese had no doubts. They snapped Vardy up and put him straight into Serie A. Italian football demands tactical intelligence and fitness. Yet their view is that he remains capable of leading a line in one of Europe’s toughest leagues. He earns only about £30,000 a week there, hardly extravagant for a man of his record. Rangers could easily have matched that. The fact they did not makes the situation look even stranger.

Dessers

Let’s not also forget our own ex-striker Cyriel came from the same club having proven himself capable at that level as well – Serie A is a pretty good bedrock to see if a player can cope with the demands of Rangers. And Dessers could.

A missed opportunity

The reality is simple. Vardy offers what Rangers lack: proven ability at the highest level. His career has been defined by defying odds, scoring against the best and proving doubters wrong. He remains desperate to show he is still capable. Rangers, however, preferred to gamble £10m on potential rather than take a sure thing for a fraction of the outlay. Fans see this and wonder how many more questionable decisions the board can afford. It feels like another example of the wrong priorities guiding recruitment.

Vardy’s story in Cremonese will be watched closely by Rangers supporters. If he scores goals in Serie A, the decision to overlook him will look even worse. Rangers need leaders, players who know how to thrive under pressure. Vardy still fits that profile. Yet instead of seeing him at Ibrox, fans must watch him prove his worth in Italy while Rangers struggle for goals at home.