Joey Veerman 'remains high' on Rangers' list of transfer targets, journalist Pete O'Rourke has told Give Me Sport. 

The lowdown

The 23-year-old central midfielder plays for Heerenveen in the Eredivisie. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract with the club and is valued at £6.3m by Transfermarkt.

Rangers may need to seek replacements if some of their existing midfielders are lured elsewhere. The Gers are braced for January interest in Glen Kamara, while Joe Aribo also has admirers from the Premier League.

The latest

O'Rourke told Give Me Sport that Rangers attempted to bring in Veerman last summer, when Steven Gerrard was still their manager, and that the club's interest hasn't subsided.

He wonders if the defender's Dutch compatriot Giovanni van Bronckhorst might enjoy more success in pursuit of the player, saying: "Veerman will definitely be high on the list of targets. They tried to sign him in the summer and he still remains high on their list of potential targets.

"With van Bronckhorst in there now, I think it just gives extra weight in maybe following up that interest in the Dutchman."

The verdict

Veerman would arrive at Ibrox with some pretty glowing endorsements. Dutch coach Robert Molenaar has called him 'extremely good' on the ball, adding that he plays like he's 'on a square in [the village of] Volendam'. Meanwhile, former Rangers defender Michael Ball has said that 'his numbers are fantastic'.

Ball is right to do so - Veerman has been directly involved in nine goals (scoring three and setting up six) in 15 league appearances in 2021/22. He also ranks in the Eredivisie's top six for chances created per 90 minutes with 2.4 (via WhoScored).

Hopefully O'Rourke's suspicion that Van Bronckhorst's arrival at Rangers could be a substantial step towards persuading the 23-year-old to make the move to Ibrox, especially if Aribo moves south of the border.

In other news, this Rangers trio struggled against Hearts