Rangers defender David Bates left Ibrox for Hamburg in the summer of 2018, months after Liam Henderson departed Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic.
David Bates is confident that he and Liam Henderson made the right decision when upping sticks and bidding farewell to Scottish football, while speaking to the Clyde Superscoreboard.
Eyebrows were raised this time last year when the highly-rated centre-back Bates brought an end to his spell at Rangers. The fact that he opted to join German second tier outfit Hamburg on a free transfer was even more surprising.
Bates’ move to the 2.Bundesliga came just a few months after Henderson swapped Celtic for Bari, the midfielder joining the Italian minnows after failing to force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ first-team plans at Parkhead.
While the cynics might have questioned a rather unique career path, both players have thrived in new surroundings. Bates is a commanding fan favourite in a Hamburg side fighting for promotion back to the top flight while Henderson’s superb performances for Bari earned him a move to Hellas Verona.
“It’s a completely different game and that’s why I came out here, to learn my trade better and learn more about myself,” Bates said.
“You see the likes of Liam Henderson in Italy, he’s doing very well for himself also.
“You can see I’ve improved as a player and it’s all because I’ve come over here, focused on my game and learned off the coaches and managers. Yeah, 100 per cent, if anyone asked me I’d tell them to take the chance.”
Rangers are set to make a new centre-back their top priority in the summer with Joe Worrall heading back to Nottingham Forest and Gareth McAuley expected to leave, too.
If only they had managed to tie Bates down to a new contract when they had the chance.
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