Calvin Bassey, the Nigerian defender for Scottish Premier League side, Glasgow Rangers, has arrived Amsterdam, to complete his £23 million transfer to Ajax.
A left-back by trade, Bassey shone during Rangers’ run to the UEFA Europa League final. He played in a central position for a sizable portion of the competition and as a result, attracted interest from a few teams on the continent.
The 22-year-old graduated from Leicester’s Academy in England in 2020, before going on to truly come of age with Rangers. However, Ajax moved quickly to choose the Super Eagles’ defender as their preferred replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who joined Manchester United recently.
The Eredivisie powerhouse agreed to a deal worth £23 million, making Bassey’s transfer the second-largest in Ajax history, behind only their £26 million purchase of Steven Bergwijn earlier this summer. On Monday, he arrived Amsterdam to complete the deal. But, Rangers are already in the market for his replacement, settling for Liverpool’s Ben Davies.
They will pay roughly £4 million for the services of 26-year-old Davies, who has spent the last 18 months on the books at Anfield, and who was a target for Scottish rivals, Celtic, last summer. When he moves, he will have departed Liverpool without making a single first-team appearance for Jurgen Klopp’s club.