After four years in the Rangers academy, the club let him go at 14, leading him to rebuild his career at Hamilton Academical and later Aberdeen. When Bologna took a £3 million gamble on him in 2022, he hit the ground running, netting seven goals in his first Serie A season, which turned out to be the best return for a Scotsman in Italy since Denis Law’s stint with Torino in the early sixties.Even a devastating ACL injury in April 2024 couldn’t slow him down for long. He led Bologna to their first Coppa Italia final in over half a century, eventually lifting the trophy after a 1–0 win over Milan in May 2025.

In doing so, he became the first Scotsman to achieve the feat since Graeme Souness.So far in the 2025–26 campaign, Ferguson has logged 1,233 minutes and a single goal, playing with the same grit that has seen him pick up five yellows and a red. On the Transfer Insider podcast, journalist Pete O’Rourke noted that while Premier League scouts have watched Ferguson since his Aberdeen days, his success in Italy has made him a priority target.“I can’t see why not. Premier League clubs have looked at him before when he was up at Aberdeen.

Since he made that move to Bologna, he has really stepped up and done well for them. That opportunity to move to Rangers has passed them by, because Rangers wouldn’t be able to afford to sign him from Bologna right now.“I’m sure a lot of Premier League clubs will sit up and take notice of him as well, but I don’t think Bologna are in any rush to sell him right now. He’s more likely to return, maybe not to Scotland but to England in the Premier League, because obviously they’d be able to afford any potential fee that Bologna would want for him.” Rangers face a summer of midfield turbulenceBOLOGNA, ITALY – APRIL 09: Lewis Ferguson of Bologna FC during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Leg One match between Bologna FC 1909 and Aston Villa FC at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on April 09, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)For Rangers, losing out on Ferguson is a blow, but it’s far from their only concern in the middle of the park.

The club are currently bracing for a midfield crisis that feels much more immediate. Nicolas Raskin has been the heartbeat of Danny Röhl’s side this season, racking up five goals and seven assists over 2,620 minutes on the field.However, former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown has cautioned that a big enough bid might force the club’s hand. With the Daily Record’s Keith Jackson reporting that Raskin is unlikely to pen a new deal, a transfer fee north of £20 million is starting to look realistic, especially if the Belgian shines at the 2026 World Cup.This leaves Rangers in a difficult spot.

They’ve missed out on Ferguson and could now lose Raskin to the same pool of wealthy English clubs. While Tromsø’s Norway Under-21 international Jens Hjerto-Dahl has been tipped as a potential replacement, his good start to the 2026 Eliteserien season, four goals in just four games, means Rangers will have to move fast or risk losing him too.Röhl has a massive rebuilding job on his hands this summer. Replacing a proven talent like Raskin with a prospect like Hjerto-Dahl is a gamble on potential over experience. Rangers needed a player like Ferguson to steady the ship; instead, they are facing the reality of losing the best midfielder they currently have.