Scottish Premiership giants Rangers will see David Bates leave Ibrox for Bundesliga strugglers Hamburg during the summer transfer window.
It was well documented that David Bates could be on his way out of Rangers this summer as the impasse over a new contract rumbled on.
But everyone was taken by surprise when the highly-rated centre-back signed a four-year deal with German side Hamburg.
And the Bundesliga club’s recruitment chief Johannes Spors has now pinpointed the moment when he knew he wanted to bring Bates to the Volksparkstadion – the 0-0 draw with Celtic back in December.
“I was in Glasgow for the game and saw him play against (Celtic striker Moussa) Dembele. He was very impressive,” Spors told the Scottish Sun.
“I have known about Dembele for a long time since he played in the English Championship and he was one I looked at for RB Leipzig when he was going out of contract. He’s a top player.
“I must be honest, I did not expect to see David play that day. I didn’t come to see him. But it was impressive to see how he performed, with that crowd, that atmosphere. He was very stable and produced a very good performance.”
Bates was excellent that December day against Celtic and Rangers really missed him when they faced off against the Hoops again on Sunday, going down to a 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat with the 21-year-old ruled out through injury.
There has been plenty of furore about his impending move to Germany, however.
The Sun claimed recently that Bates wanted an increase in his weekly wage to £7,000, a figure Rangers were not prepared to match, while manager Graeme Murty accused the former Raith Rovers youngster of choosing ‘money over medals’ by signing for a club who look likely to be relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time this season.
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