Competition is fierce in Europe’s most fabled academies. Sometimes, not even talent can be enough.
James Garner, Teden Mengi and Anthony Elanga never quite made the grade at Manchester United but have gone on to become Premier League stalwarts elsewhere after leaving Old Trafford.
And for every Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona, there is a Dani Olmo, an Alex Grimaldo and a Mauro Icardi.
You could make a rather fearsome starting XI, meanwhile, out of those who rose through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain before looking elsewhere for regular first-team minutes. See Christopher Nkunku, Mike Maignan, Moussa Diaby and Kingsley Coman.
One of Rangers’ eight summer signings, meanwhile, arrives at Ibrox having fallen just short at another of Europe’s great production lines.
Former Ajax starlet Vaclav Cerny arrives at Rangers
Vaclav Cerny spent six years at Ajax between 2013 and 2019.
The baby-faced winger would make fewer than 30 senior appearances however before moving onto FC Twente, via a brief spell at Utrecht, and establishing himself as one of the division’s most influential forwards.
When you consider some of the names that were ahead of Cerny in Ajax’s pecking order at the time, you can understand why the teenager never really nailed down a regular place in then-manager Erik ten Hag’s plans.
Shortly before leaving Amsterdam five years ago, an Ajax team containing such attacking talents as Dusan Tadic, David Neres and Hakim Ziyech blasted past Real Madrid and Juventus on route to the brink of a Champions League final.
But, make no mistake, now-Manchester United boss Ten Hag certainly knew that Cerny had something about him.
“He’s just played his first matches for Jong Ajax,” Ten Hag told Ajax Life back in 2018 while highlighting the ‘special qualities’ that marked the Czech speedster out as one to watch.
“(His development) is going well. We’re very happy with that. He’s very happy with that.
“He has specific qualities on the wing. He has depth but can also play between the lines. He is a good dribbler and is also quite two-footed. He has quite a few special qualities.
“Vaclav is a player who can be very interesting.”
Six years on, Cerny is preparing for a fresh start in Scotland. Rangers signed the 26-year-old on loan from Bundesliga outfit VFL Wolfsburg last week, much to the delight of ex-Feyenoord frontman Cyriel Dessers.
And while Cerny might not have lived up to his potential as ‘one of the biggest talents in Europe‘ – to quote his former Twente coach Ron Jans – the explosive left-footer’s outstanding track record in Dutch football is a mouthwatering prospect for Rangers fans hoping for a similar impact in a league that ranks alongside the Eredivisie in terms of quality and competition.
Cerny, in his final season at Twente, scored 15 goals while setting up 13 more; showcasing the electric dribbling skills and clever movement that caught Ten Hag’s eye at Ajax.
If he can get anywhere near those numbers at Rangers, Philippe Clement might have got his mitts on a forward capable of emulating the success of former loan star Abdallah Sima last term.
Cerny could thrive alongside Danilo and Cyriel Dessers
Jans spoke to The Herald a few days ago while telling the Ibrox fanbase what they can expect from their new number 18. And there’s that word again; ‘special’.
“Vaclav is one of my favourites. I loved working with him,” Jans says.
“As a young kid, he was seen as one of the biggest talents in Europe. Vaclav had real speed. His left foot is incredible and he works really hard as a player. He’s a real high-intensity player in transition and when pressing.
“Sometimes, he wants things to happen too quickly and needs to be relaxed in his head. But we all love watching football players who are doing something special.”
Cerny will have been greeted at Rangers, meanwhile, by a very familiar face. He and Danilo played together at Twente back in 2020/21, the two forwards combining to score or assist 35 goals across all competitions.
“Danilo and Vaclav played together and had a great fit. The chemistry was really good,” Jans recalls.
“They scored so many goals in the first half of the season. It was sensational.”
