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€4m fee agreed
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Rangers are set to complete a major January transfer signing as they edge closer to confirming a deal for Westerlo defender Tuur Rommens. Transfermarkt understands that the 22-year-old full-back is set to make the move to the Glasgow giants in a deal worth €4 million, with the Jupiler Pro League side due 15 percent of any sell-on fee that Rangers earn from Rommens in the future. The move will make the Belgian talent Rangers’ ninth most expensive defensive signing of all time and the highest fee they’ve paid for a defender since 2022. But who is Rommens and how excited should fans of the Ibrox side be about their new signing?
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How good is Tuur Rommens?
Although Rommens did start off at Westerlo, he made the move to Genk in 2012 and worked his way through their youth academy, before returning to his boyhood club in 2023. Since then the left-back has worked his way up to a first team role and earned plenty of praise and attention in the transfer market. “Last season was his best season and it was expected that he would leave for a better league in the summer,” noted Bart Tamysn, Transfermart’s Belgian football expert. “However, because Jordan Bos moved to Feyenoord, Westerlo could not risk letting both left-backs leave. In the meantime, Lucas Mbamba has shown his qualities in that position and, in an emergency, right-back Bryan Reynolds can also play there. That is why now seems to be the right time for Rommens to transfer.”
Over the course of 79 games for Westerlo, Rommens has at times played as a left winger and in the centre of defence, but is unquestionably a left-back and one that will be tasked with slotting straight into Danny Röhl’s team in a position that seriously needs a new regular starter. So what are Rommens’ best attributes as a player? “He is physically strong and often runs up and down the line,” said Tamysn when asked about Rommens style of play. “Defensively, he can get stuck into his opponents, which means you can’t get rid of him straight away. Offensively, he can contribute with good crosses, although his four assists in 55 matches in the last year and a half are perhaps a little disappointing. He is also an organiser and communicator, and his mentality is top notch.”
How much potential does Tuur Rommens have?
Although Rommens hasn’t yet received a call up to the Belgian national team, he was a regular player for his nation’s U19 and U21 teams. And a move to Rangers is perhaps exactly what the 20-year-old talent needs to work his way into Rudi Garcia’s team in 2026. When asked about the prospect of Rummens becoming a full international for Belgium, Tamysn said: “At the moment, there is no talk of Rommens joining the national team because you have Maxim De Cuyper from Brighton and Joaquin Seys from Club Brugge, while Diego Moreira from Strasbourg and Timothy Castagne are also able to play on that position. This transfer could put him more in the spotlight however.”
And could Rommens potentially use Rangers as a stepping stone towards the Premier League? “Perhaps, but let’s wait and see if he succeeds at Rangers first,” said Tamyn. “This transfer is already a nice step forward for him after he failed to break through into the first team at KRC Genk. Westerlo do manage to deliver young talents to clubs in the top five leagues, either directly or in the second instance. De Cuyper, for example, was able to move to Brighton via Club Brugge thanks to his loan spell at Westerlo.”
Whether a call up to the Belgian national team or a move to the Premier League beckons for Rommens in the future, it seems more than likely that Rommens will be looking to make the most of his move to Glasgow. And with the Ibrox side struggling for options at left-back this season, it surely won’t take long before the 20-year-old defender has cemented his spot in Röhl’s first team.
