John Hartson takes on Rangers hero Kris Boyd as he slams Aaron Ramsey claim

The Welshman reckons there was always a feeling that the deal for Aaron Ramsey might not work out.

John Hartson has slammed the Rangers hype that Aaron Ramsey gained when he signed - insisting the deal was always a gamble.

The signing of the Welshman in January was hailed as a blockbuster coup for the Ibrox side when he arrived in the Scottish Premiership.

But things turned sour for the Juventus loanee having been hampered by injury and missing the crucial penalty in the Europa League final.

Ramsey did end his time in Govan with a Scottish Cup winners medal, but Celtic hero Hartson admits the move was a flop.

When asked why the move didn't work out for Ramsey, he told 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 OK. 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 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."

He was then asked about some of the reaction to Rangers signing in January, including comments which saw Kris Boyd claim Ramsey was the biggest signing since Paul Gascoigne.

Hartson went on: "It just hasn't happened, and he's no Gascoigne, ok? He's no Gascoigne, at his best. He's no 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 would need to stay for the next seven or eight years and score 250 goals.

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