Kees van Wonderen’s first three words when asked for his assessment of imminent Rangers recruit Sam Lammers will be music to the Ibrox fans ears – winner, worker and fighter.
All part of an assessment by the current Heerenveen boss and former assistant to Ronald Koeman with the Dutch national team. As Lammers prepares to arrive in Glasgow as Michael Beale's fourth summer signing from Atalanta in a four-year-deal worth around £3million, van Wonderin has charted the hitman's career as a youngster at PSV before a goal-laden loan spell with Heerenveen which secured a move to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Serie A.
The 54-year-old ex-Holland international insists Lammers first appeared on his radar as a teenager when he was in charge of his country's youth teams. He said: "I didn't get the chance to work with Sam but he was a prominent young player in the Dutch league so I kept a close eye on his progress both as youth at PSV and then when we moved to Heerenveen.
"What you get from him as a player is first and foremost a superb work ethic. He's a left footed striker and is good technically.
"He's a player who has an eye on the tactical aspects of the game, he appreciates how the game is played, where the spaces are and how to deal with circumstances on the pitch. He knows how to play an opponent and is a very clever guy.
"You can see from his statistics as a young player that he knows how to score a goal. What Rangers are getting is a player who works so hard and brings with him a decent technique."
Van Wonderen has no doubt that Lammers is a striker who will lead the line for the Light Blues but there are other attributes which can make him a hero with the Ibrox support. He said: "Sam is a fighter, he's strong but don't expect him to be a target man as it's not his role in the team.
"If Rangers are expecting him to be the number nine focus of the attack then he's not that guy. I have no doubt he will be able to cope well with the physical aspects of the Scottish game as he has the strength but he's also a winner.
"I can see him being a big success in Scotland. Rangers have signed a quality player who can make a big impact."
Lammers scoring return with Atlanta consists of only two goals and loan spells at Eintracht Frankfurt, Empoli and Sampdoria were also uninspiring but van Wonderen is convinced that education in Italy will bode well and allow the floodgates to open for the 26-year-old in Scotland.
He said: "When I worked with the Dutch youth national sides, Sam was a little bit older than my group but I watched many of his games when I was selecting players. He was well known as a player with great potential and he moved from PSV to Heerenveen and scored a lot of goals.
"It earned him a move to a huge Italian team in Italy and that switch to Atalanta was always going to be a big step. No matter who you are or what reputation you bring with you, it's hard to find your place at a club such as Atalanta in Serie A.
"Italian football is another way of playing from what Sam would have been used to in the Dutch Eredivisie. Atalanta have a coach who demands his team works so hard, he wants them to run hard and show the physical aspects of their game so it's a different style and approach to what he was used to.
"The learning curve for Sam over in Italy would have been enormous but he will have learned and he'll take that learning with him to Scotland. He'll have added the Italian way of playing to his knowledge and Rangers will get the benefit of that.
"It was also help him to adapt quickly to the Scottish Premiership which is a massive advantage for any player arriving at a new club. He can adapt quickly and I have no doubt he can push his career forward in Glasgow."
Beale will have done his homework on a player whose career has hit a downturn in recent seasons but van Wonderen believes the switch to Ibrox can reignite the fortunes of a player who can use in his time in Glasgow to force his way into the Dutch national side.
He said: "Sam needs to translate what he's learned during his career into the Scottish league and he has the technical ability to do that. He needs this challenge at this moment in his career and it can ignite his ambitions to claim a place in the national side.
"Rangers will provide him with the perfect platform to do that as I know well the huge rivalry they have with Celtic. Sam will hopefully get to play Champions League football and that is also a platform to show himself.
"The Old Firm are enormous in Scotland and I know from talking to Pierre van Hooijdonk how fierce the rivalry is. He talks often about what he experienced but I've also listened to Gio van Bronckhorst and both Frank and Ronald de Boer talk about their time in Glasgow so we know all about this in Holland.
"This move is considered a good moment for Sam by football people in Holland. It's a challenge and a lift for him to try and make an impact in that competition. If he wants to get himself into the international frame then he needs to go to Rangers and score goals, show himself and be an important player for Rangers.
"If he does that then there is a space in the national side for him because there are players such as Memphis Depay who is injured. Sam's name will then come up and there will be a space for him to make a step towards that platform.
"But first he needs to show himself and deliver good numbers both in goals and in assists for Rangers and be important in Glasgow."
