Glasgow Rangers need eight more victories to win the Premiership for the first time since the 2020–21 season.
Under Philippe Clement’s direction, a team that was about to face a serious crisis has made an incredible recovery and now stands a realistic possibility of winning a domestic triple crown.
The Belgian has improved the Light Blues’ performance and made them more difficult to beat, but more significantly, he has given the players hope that they can defeat Celtic in the championship game.
His influence throughout the transfer window has been another advantageous facet of his rule thus far. In the past, the Gers had trouble bringing in the right kind of players during the January transfer window. Remember players like Jack Simpson or Aaron Ramsey who had difficulty leaving their mark while they were at the team?
With three new signings who are all 22 years of age or younger, the club may be taking a completely different approach to its future transfer dealings.
Over the past few years, Celtic has outperformed the Gers in this area since they like to maximize their player trading model by purchasing low and selling high in order to receive a higher financial gain.
Conversely, Rangers have not truly used this strategy since their 2016 Premiership comeback. Calvin Bassey is arguably the only player, aside from Nathan Patterson, to have been sold for a sum that the team ought to anticipate from nurturing fresh talent.
Calvin Bassey’s cost to the Rangers
Steven Gerrard strengthened his team in the summer of 2020 in preparation for a rematch for the league championship.
Ianis Hagi became a permanent member, while Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe were brought in to provide the team with future additions.
Another new addition, Bassey was a gifted left-back for Leicester City and came at a much lower cost than the other three.
In fact, because of cross-border regulations, the Gers only had to pay a compensation fee of about £230,000k. Gerrard was hopeful that this signing would have a significant impact on the team in the years to come.
He adapted to life at the Glasgow side rather quickly.
Rangers facts pertaining to Calvin Bassey
When Bassey arrived, Borna Barisic was already clearly the best option at left-back, but the young player was expected to help out and cover when needed.
The defender ended up making 15 appearances in his debut season, scoring one goal, and Bassey’s future appeared promising.
The next season started with disappointment as the Gers were not able to make it into the Champions League, but Bassey did not play in either of the two games.
Not until a crisis of defense injuries sidelined Leon Balogun and Filip Helander did Bassey finally cement his place in the starting lineup.
The Nigerian international proved to be one of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s best players during the season, making 50 appearances across all competitions and dishing up six assists.
He participated in all but one of their Europa League matches as the Ibrox team advanced to a historic final, where they were defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.
His stature had increased significantly over the course of the season, demonstrating his defensive prowess alongside Connor Goldson, and it was obvious that he would attract interest from possible suitors come summer 2022.
What Calvin Bassey’s Rangers sold him for
Rangers only won the Scottish Cup in the 2021/22 season, despite coming dangerously near to winning in Europe, thus Van Bronckhorst had to make smart transfers during the transfer window.
He signed a few players, but most of them were paid for by the sale of Bassey, who, on a personal level, moved to Ajax after an incredible season.
The defender ultimately left the club for Amsterdam for a transfer fee of just under £23 million, setting a record for the club’s exit.
Since Bassey moved overseas to join Ajax, his market worth has dropped dramatically, thus it looks like the team made a brilliant move.
Current market worth of Calvin Bassey
Given that the defender’s valuation at the time was a pitiful €1.1m (£1m), it was obvious that Ajax overpaid to sign him two years ago, supporting the idea that the Gers hit gold with him.
Bassey’s current valuation, as reported by Football Transfers, is €14.4m (£12.3m), which is £10.7m less than the £23m that was paid to bring him to the Netherlands in 2022.
It is safe to assume that the “explosive” brute—as his U23 coach at Leicester, Steve Beaglehole, nicknamed him—did not have the best of times overseas.
Before joining Fulham last summer in a transfer worth £18.2 million, he started just 20 league games for the Eredivisie team, meaning Ajax recovered almost all of their initial investment.
The left-back has participated in 21 Premier League games so far this season, and he has scored once, in a fantastic 2-1 victory over Manchester United in February.
Based on his two seasons at Rangers, the 24-year-old proved to be an excellent defender, so it appears that the English top flight is a better fit for him. This suggests that his time at Ajax was only a temporary setback.
In order to sell them for a significant profit in the road, Clement will be hoping to draw in new talent of Bassey’s caliber.
In fact, Mohamed Diomande—who cost £4.3 million to sign during the January transfer window—fits the bill well in terms of a player trading scheme.
During his brief sojourn in Scotland, the 22-year-old has already proven his ability, and if he keeps improving at a quick pace, lots of suitors will be expressing interest.
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It is important to maximize potential profit so that the manager may buy more players, even though the club will not want to let go of every player who shows promise.
By sending Bassey on for such a large sum, the Rangers hit the lottery by being able to spend lavishly on a select few players.
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