Former Rangers defender David Bates has said it was a ‘no-brainer’ to join Hamburg on a free transfer last summer, as reported by The Daily Record.
The £1.8m-rated 22-year-old had only just made a breakthrough into the Gers first-team before deciding to ditch Scotland for life in Germany and it appears he has no regrets about his decision at all.
As quoted by the paper, the centre-back said on international duty this week:
It’s not easy but you must be at the top of your game to represent Scotland. You must play at your best to retain your place, especially when there are so many good players sniffing around for a spot in the team.
But the whole idea of moving to Hamburg was to play as often as I could and improve as a player. My family and coaches tell me that has happened.
I’m enjoying myself so much and I go to training with a laugh and smile on my face. It was a no-brainer to join Hamburg as they are such a big club in German football.
Based on his performance for Scotland today against Kazakhstan, I doubt Rangers fans are missing him much either considering his calamitous display in the embarrassing 3-0 defeat.
Clearly his progress is not quite as impressive as made out with his comments.
There’s no doubt though that Rangers should be letting young players run their contract down only to move to other big clubs though and hopefully the Bates saga serves a learning experience for the recruitment team at Ibrox to make sure it never happens again.