Rangers target Joey Veerman still wants to leave Eredivisie outfit Heerenveen before the transfer window slams shut next week, head coach Johnny Jansen tells Voetbal International.
Despite being linked with a move away from the Abe Lenstra Stadium all summer long, one of the finest central midfielders in Dutch football clearly hasn’t allowed the rumours to distract him from the task in hand.
Veerman was back to his brilliant best as Heerenveen blitzed RKC Waalwijk during a furious 45 minute display last weekend, driving his team-mates forward with typical verve and precision.
In truth, it was the sort of all-action performance that shows why Rangers – amongst others – are so keen on man reminiscent in some ways of a young Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard, by the way, is understood to be a huge fan of Veerman, who contributed nine goals and 11 assists from his box-to-box role last term.
Could Joey Veerman still join Rangers this month?
According to De Telegraaf, the Scottish Premiership giants made a £3.8 million bid in July.
That, however, fell well, well short of the £10 million fee Heerenveen want for their star man – a sum Veerman himself has described as ‘craziness’.
“Yes: he wants to take a step forward and expresses it,” admits Jansen of a man who was heavily linked with Southampton this time last year.
“But he absolutely does not abandon his team. I think that is a great show of class from Joey.”
Jansen believes that Veerman is far from the finished article just yet, however, insisting that the 22-year-old would benefit from adding some consistency to his game.
“Joey is sometimes still changeable. His peaks are very high. Sometimes he plays a pass and I think: ‘How could he ever have seen that?’,” Jansen adds.
“At the same time, I think his lower limit can still go up a bit. But he is an enormous talent that will undoubtedly catch on at a higher level.”
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