Barry Ferguson insists former club Rangers blew it by not signing nephew Lewis last summer.

Son of Derek, the Scotland international moved to Bologna from Aberdeen for £3million.

The 23-year-old hasn't looked back after taking to the Serie A like a duck to water.

Ferguson has been in fine form since making the courageous decision to ply his trade abroad. 

The midfielder starred in Bologna's weekend win over Inter Milan, which finished 1-0.

He's already been tipped for a further big money move to either AC Milan or Juventus after less than a year in Italy.

And his uncle Barry reckons it won't be long before Lewis moves on for a bumper payday, as he revealed he couldn't understand why Rangers didn't try sign him from Aberdeen.

Ferguson told Go Radio's Football Show: "Don’t get me started. People say it's because he's your nephew, blah blah. I'll tell you this - he had the mentality and personality to play with Rangers.

"I was very surprised that there was not even a sniff of an interest which, listen, happens, they had their reasons.

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"He's went over there - don’t be surprised if he moves in the summer for double, treble that (£3million fee).

"I've watched a few of his games and I can see the difference.

"He's learned over there. He's learned a lot of the game, whereas back here he was running all over the place, which is part of his job. You can see as an all round footballer, he's definitely improved since he went over to Italy.

"As I said, there's nothing more I would like than to see him get a bigger and better move.

"Going back to the summer, I was just surprised and didn’t know the reason why (Rangers didn't make a move). Even Celtic, for that matter."

The former Scotland captain went on to make a more general point about the Old Firm ignoring homegrown talent on their doorstep. 

He continued: "I think sometimes, they look away from the game here which frustrates me.

"Lawrence Shankland would've scored goals for either Celtic or Rangers.

"Kevin Nisbet, I know this for a fact, that the fee was £1.4m going to Millwall with add-ons.

"For me, that’s a snip. It's not even a gamble, that boy could easily play with either Rangers or Celtic.

"Again, that's why I'm surprised the clubs aren’t looking at players like this. Look home first, there's good players playing here."