"The only way I can see this materialising is 2028, possibly, when he is out of contract." That's Alex Rae's pitch for how Rangers eventually land Lewis Ferguson — skip the £15-20 million fee Bologna are asking, monitor the contract situation, and pounce when the midfielder enters his final year at the club.
It's not a bad idea in isolation. Ferguson's deal runs until 2028, meaning the summer of 2027 is when things get genuinely interesting. Clubs routinely lose players who run down contracts, and if Rangers can redirect that transfer fee into wages and a signing-on package, they land a boyhood supporter without blowing the budget on a fee. The logic is clean.
The problem is Rangers need a midfielder now
Derek McInnes isn't building for 2028. He's trying to put together a squad capable of competing this season and next, and anchoring midfield recruitment to a move that might — might — happen in two years is a strategy built on hope rather than planning. Bologna could hand Ferguson an improved deal tomorrow. Another club could come in before Rangers get a look-in. The window closes fast.
Ferguson himself has been pretty honest about where things stand. "Nothing was ever really that close, to be honest," he said about last summer's Rangers links. He thought hard about his future, went back to pre-season, and chose to stay in Italy. Since joining Bologna in 2022, he's become captain, helped them into the Champions League, and won the 2025 Coppa Italia — the first Scottish player to lift it since Graeme Souness. That's not a player desperate for an exit.
The family connection is real — his father Derek and uncle Barry both played for Rangers, and Ferguson has openly said he'd like to represent the club one day. Sentiment matters. But Bologna are building something too, and Ferguson is central to it.
What Rangers should actually do
Keep the line open. Don't make it a plan. McInnes needs midfield options that solve problems in January or next summer, not a target two years out who might extend his contract or take his pick of other clubs when the time comes.
- Rangers should track Ferguson's contract situation without depending on it
- Younger, attainable midfielders need to be the priority in the short term
- If Ferguson reaches 2027 without signing an extension, then explore a pre-contract arrangement
From a betting perspective, Rangers' title challenge this season lives or dies on their squad depth now — not on a transfer that exists mainly in the theoretical. Rae's patience play makes financial sense. As a recruitment strategy, it leaves too much to chance for a club that can't afford another transitional year.
"I think one day" is how Ferguson described playing for Rangers. That's a nice quote. It's not a transfer agreement.
