Rangers Held Initial Talks To Sign This Serie A Midfielder: Do The Ibrox Club Need Him? | OneFootball

Rangers have made their first major move of the summer window. Senior figures at Ibrox have opened initial talks with Italian outfit Bologna over a potential deal for Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson. The news, broken by Chris Jack via Rangers Review, as relayed by @LetsTalkGers on X, confirms that the Glasgow club now know exactly what it will take in terms of a transfer fee and wages to land the 26-year-old. It won’t be cheap.

Rangers learn steep price for Lewis Ferguson as McInnes plots midfield overhaul

When Ferguson left Aberdeen for Serie A back in 2022, he cost the Italians roughly £3 million. Things have changed. A stellar development curve in Italy means Transfermarkt now pegs his market value at a hefty £15.5 million. Whether Rangers can actually match that kind of financial muscle is another question entirely.

Turning steel into silverware under McInnes

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 19: Lewis Ferguson #19 of Scotland arrives at the stadium before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Scotland and Morocco at Boston Stadium on June 19, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Newly appointed manager Derek McInnes, who penned a three-year contract at Ibrox this June, desperately needs to inject some tactical discipline into a central midfield that looked entirely too fragile last term. Ferguson looks like the ideal profile.

He played 27 times in Serie A during the 2025/26 campaign, starting 17 matches and coming off the bench in another 10. Do not expect the free-scoring lung-bursts from his early Pittodrie days, though. His game has changed. A solitary league goal last season shows a clear evolution toward positional awareness and ball retention under heavy pressure.

He clocked 1,596 league minutes last year, racking up a brilliant 92.6% passing accuracy. Even more impressive is his aerial dominance, with the midfielder winning 93% of his duels in the air. This robustness is precisely what McInnes requires for his preferred high-pressing mid-block. He needs midfielders who can win the ball dirtily and immediately shift it forward.

Paying over £15m for a single player represents a massive gamble in the current Scottish market. The Ibrox board has to balance the books. Ferguson picked up seven yellow cards and a red last year, proving he still has that crucial nasty streak, but spending a record fee on a defensive-minded player who managed just one goal in 45 club appearances will raise eyebrows among fans who want goals and glamour.

McInnes needs ready-made leaders for the crucial European qualifiers in August, but blowing the entire summer budget on one man leaves other glaring holes in the Rangers squad completely exposed.