David Bates left Scottish Premiership giants Rangers in the summer when his contract at Ibrox expired, joining German second tier side Hamburg.
Though many Rangers fans will not agree, Scot Gemmill believes David Bates made the right decision rejecting a new contract at Ibrox and moving to Hamburg in the summer.
“You can already see his game intelligence has developed,” the Scotland U21 boss told the BBC at the start of September.
Bates emerged as one of the most promising young players in the country during an impressive 2017/18 season at Ibrox but the Glasgow giants failed to tie him down to a long-term deal.
According to the Scottish Sun, Rangers were unwilling to meet his £7,000-a-week wage demands, pushing Bates towards German second tier outfit Hamburg, who were relegated for the first time in their history last season.
And the early signs suggest that Hamburg are already very reliant on the young centre-back. In the last three games that Bates has started, Hamburg have kept three straight clean sheets in successive victories.
As a result, the former Raith Rovers starlet has emerged as a fans’ favourite already and has been handed some rather eye-catching nicknames.
And the fact that Hamburg were battered 5-0 at home by Jahn Regensburg without Bates in the starting XI on Sunday is, as a number of fans have pointed out on Twitter, is no coincidence.
Bates is certainly making a name for himself over in Germany. He took a risk leaving Rangers but it is working in his favour right now.
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