Rangers senior player jokes about ringing team-mate agent after deal agreed
Rangers defender Russell Martin has joked he is going to call David Bates’ agent and ask for some commission after the 21-year-old agreed a four-year deal with Hamburg.
Bates surprised everyone on Thursday when the Germans announced they had agreed to sign the defender in the summer when his Rangers contract comes to an end.
Gers senior player Martin admitted the move was “brave” by the former Raith defender but thinks his time in Germany will help him improve a lot.
“I’m going to ring his agent and ask for some commission,” Martin said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I hope he has enjoyed playing beside me as he’s always asking questions.
“We built up a good relationship pretty quickly. As a person I hold him in extremely high regard, especially with his attitude in terms of wanting to learn.
“I said to him today his move is brave. I think it’ll be brilliant for him. He’ll get coached over there and will improve a lot.”
Bates has made 17 appearances for the Gers this season and featured alongside Martin after the 29-times capped defender completed his loan move from Norwich City.
Hamburg could be set to drop out of the Bundesliga for the first time since it was formed after a horrendous campaign this season.
Bates is currently out of action after suffering an ankle injury in the recent 3-2 Old Firm defeat by Celtic.
Football Insider verdict:
Martin should probably get on to Bates’ agent and see if he can get him a move to Hamburg too as his recent performances have made a permanent Ibrox switch unlikely. Bates’ move is brave though and it is refreshing to see the 21-year-old take a gamble and move to Germany to further his career. It is debateable if he would have been a first-team regular at Ibrox next season if he had stayed but moving to Hamburg lets him develop in a new environment.
In other Rangers news, Gers fans were blown away by this winger’s performance in the 4-0 win over Breidablik.
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