Out-of-favour defender David Bates is currently training with Hamburg’s reserves as Scottish Premiership champions Rangers eye a deal to bring the defender back to Ibrox, as reported by BILD.
If only the Kirkcaldy-born defender could turn back the clock.
Because, while Rangers were celebrating their first league title in a decade last season, Steven Gerrard’s Invincibles knocking Celtic off their perch in spectacular fashion, a man who walked away from Ibrox three years earlier saw a permanent move to Cercle Brugge slip through his fingers.
Hamburg thought they had pulled off a considerable coup at the time when they snatched a fresh-faced Bates away from Rangers.
But, after making fewer than 30 appearances for the 1983 European Champions, Bates is now ticking over in the reserves, training with Hamburg’s youth side as the sleeping giants of German football look to find a buyer.
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s fair to say swapping Scotland for Hamburg hasn’t turned out to be a great decision.
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Rangers bid to bring David Bates back to Ibrox
This week, Homme du Match reported Rangers could offer Bates a shock lifeline back in Glasgow.
There’s certainly room in Gerrard’s squad for one more centre-back after the departure of George Edmundson to Ipswich Town.
Bates, a four-time Scotland international, could slot straight in without much fuss. He knows the club like the back of his hand, after all, although a lot has changed since 2018.
Bates, who spent an injury-hit loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday recently, was part of the Gers side that hit rock bottom during the ill-fated reign of Pedro Caixinha, losing to the fourth-best side in Luxembourg in a Europa League qualifier.
Wes Foderingham, Jordan Rossiter, Niko Kranjcar, Eduardo Herrera and the lesser-spotted Dalcio also featured on that fateful night. As we said, a lot has changed.
Should he be offered a second chance at Rangers, expect Bates to grasp it with both hands.
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