Lewis Ferguson has firmly rejected suggestions that a summer departure to Rangers was imminent, insisting that no concrete move to his boyhood club ever materialized. The Scotland midfielder, 27, acknowledged interest from Ibrox but stressed that discussions never reached an advanced stage, telling reporters after Scotland's 0-0 draw with Slovenia that nothing was "ever that close." Despite the speculation, Ferguson has recommitted to Bologna, where he currently holds a contract through 2028 with an additional optional year, and has featured in every minute of his side's opening five Serie A fixtures this campaign.
Ferguson's connection to Rangers runs deeper than mere professional ambition. Released by the Glasgow giants at age 14, he forged an unlikely path to Italian football through spells at Hamilton Academical and Aberdeen before joining Bologna in 2022. Since then, his trajectory has soared—he was named captain in 2023 and guided the club to their first Coppa Italia triumph in more than 50 years in 2025. His family lineage at Ibrox adds another layer of significance; his father Derek and uncle Barry both represented Rangers, with Barry eventually captaining the club and later managing it. Newly-appointed Rangers manager Derek McInnes, who previously worked with Ferguson at Aberdeen, has publicly acknowledged an "obvious link" with the midfielder.
The midfielder's deliberation over his future came to a head following the World Cup, with Ferguson revealing he experienced uncertainty during that period. However, the arrival of new Bologna manager Domenico Tedesco offered a fresh perspective and reinvigorated his commitment to the Serie A outfit. Since then, the club has undergone further managerial changes, with Raffaele Palladino now at the helm—three different managers in the span of two months, Ferguson noted. These transitions ultimately strengthened rather than weakened his resolve to remain in Italy and continue the journey he has built with Bologna.
While Ferguson harbors no secret about his lifelong affection for Rangers, he remains focused on his present obligations and the unfinished business at Bologna. "It was a dream of mine as a kid and that's not changed," he reflected, "but I don't want to speak about that while I'm a player at Bologna." He acknowledged that a future return to Ibrox remains a possibility, describing it as something that has "always been something in the back of mind," yet emphasized his determination to extract maximum value from his current chapter in Serie A before contemplating any next move.