Lewis Ferguson has said that a move away from Bologna this summer was never close, despite reports of interest from Rangers. The Scotland midfielder, 27, still holds ambitions of returning to Ibrox at some stage in his career. Ferguson won his 28th Scotland cap in Saturday’s 0-0 draw away to Slovenia.
Ferguson was released by Rangers at 14 and rebuilt his career through Hamilton Academical and Aberdeen before moving to Serie A in 2022. He has captained Bologna since 2023 and led the club to their first Coppa Italia in over 50 years in 2025. Last season, however, starts became sparse under Vincenzo Italiano, with only 17 in the league.
When asked about links to Rangers, Ferguson said: “I had a long think after the World Cup about my future and I was a little bit unsure but nothing was ever that close.” He added: “When I went back for pre-season, we had a new manager [Domenico Tedesco] and it was like a fresh start. We changed again since [with Raffaele Palladino], so I’ve had three new managers in the last two months [including Sebastien Pocognoli with Scotland].”
He continued: “I had a long think about what my future was going to look like and in the end it was still at Bologna. I’ve loved every moment that I’ve had there. It was just about continuing that journey and seeing where it takes me.” Ferguson is under contract until 2028 with the option of a further year and has played every minute of Bologna’s five Serie A games so far this season.
His family ties to Rangers are strong: his father, Derek, and uncle, Barry, both played for the club, with Barry captaining and at one stage managing at Ibrox. In July, newly installed Rangers manager Derek McInnes spoke of an “obvious link” with Ferguson, having worked with him at Aberdeen. On his bond with Rangers, Ferguson said: “It’s no secret that I grew up a fan and my family is involved in the club. It was a dream of mine as a kid and that’s not changed but I don’t want to speak about that while I’m a player at Bologna. In the future, you never know. It might happen, it might not, but it’s always been something in the back of mind.”