Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Calvin Bassey is close to an Ibrox exit after missing yesterday’s friendly win over Blackpool, with the Super Eagles star set to join Ajax in a €27million deal.
As we exclusively revealed yesterday, Bassey flew to London ahead of talks with the Dutch giants and van Bronckhorst admits the chances of Bassey leaving are “very, very high”.
The Rangers boss insists his focus in on preparing the side for upcoming games as lavished Bassey with praise for the way he has developed since joining the Gers from Leicester City’s Academy two years ago.
“We heard about the interest in Calvin this week from different clubs. You know that if you have players who perform well the interest will come,” Gio said [Glasgow Times]
“It went to a level where the club thinks the deal might be happening, so that’s why I spoke to Calvin yesterday (Friday) and decided to leave him home.
“We just wait to see what will happen in the coming days to see what will happen but obviously when he isn’t here we are not taking the risk.
“The chances he will leave are very, very high. I don’t think I will have him for this week’s friendlies or the start of the season so that’s why we left him home.
“There are several clubs. I spoke with Ross and he’s dealing with all the interest. I am concentrated on preparing the team for the last week of friendly games.
“The most important thing is that the club is doing everything in their best interest, and that means we might sell.”
“We have only positives to take. I really enjoyed working with Calvin the last six months.
“His development was incredible how he developed into a central defender – and sometimes as a left back.
“A player like him came from the second team and developed into a top class defender and that’s what you want at your club.
“I’m very proud to be part of that, so he will move on to the next level and develop even more. Of course the club will make money financially too.
“No I don’t know the figure. We’ve done really well so far in getting new players in the positions where positions left so I’m really happy with that.
“We might lose Calvin so we have to move on and be ready for possible players coming in.
“If Calvin is going, he was a left back and a left central defender, so we will look at the qualities of the player and the dynamic to see if we move for one player or two.”
Bassey’s Ajax move sets Rangers up for further summer spending
With Rangers set to pocket the bulk of £20million for Bassey, it is a fantastic deal for the defender who cost the Gers £230,000 from Leicester.
Having already added five new signings to his squad this summer, Gio van Bronckhorst will need to add a couple more bodies before the transfer window closes to bolster his defensive options.
While Rangers have a rake of central defenders, concerns over fitness for some of them means another centre-back could be incoming – and a new left-back is vital.