FORMER Celtic striker John Hartson believes that Rangers bringing in Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey on loan during the January transfer window was a move that didn't pay off.

The 31-year-old arrived at Ibrox on deadline day to much fanfare, with some pundits calling the move the biggest transfer Scotland had seen in years.

Rangers fan favourite Kris Boyd compared the Welsman's arrival to Paul Gascoigne's move to Govan but Hartson thinks his compatriot struggled to live up to the hype.

When asked why the move didn't completely work out for Ramsey, Hartson explained on The Go Radio Football Show: "I wasn't particularly surprised.

"He hadn't played a lot of football. Everybody thought, myself included, that he would have a bigger impact because of his previous FA Cup final goals at Arsenal and some of the things he has done for the national team.

"He clearly wasn't ready in terms of his fitness and wasn't up to speed. When he did play I thought he did okay. He got the goal at Ibrox in the 2-1 defeat [for Celtic].

"He scored a goal at Dundee, had a little run of games and then got injured in the Scottish Cup semi-final which kept him out again.

"I think it's probably more frustrating when it's topped off with that penalty miss as well in the [Europa League] final.

"I think he will have enjoyed his experience, getting to the final and obviously winning the Scottish Cup. But overall, I would have to say he never really got going or got any momentum.

"It just hasn't happened, and he's no Gascoigne, okay? He's no Gascoigne, at his best. He's no [Brian] Laudrup at his best.

"I'm a huge fan of Aaron Ramsey and he's a fantastic player, but he's not a Paul Gascoigne. Come on.

"It's like signing another fantastic centre-forward and saying he's as good as [Henrik] Larsson. No way. Kyogo [Furuhashi] would need to stay for the next seven or eight years and score 250 goals.

"People tend to link players and say things for the sake of saying things."