Rangers transfers: Calvin Bassey Ajax contract detailed as record €23m defender's new shirt number revealed

Calvin Bassey was all smiles as he signed a five-year contract with Ajax and set a new Rangers transfer record.

Signed from Leicester City in 2020 for a £230,000 club development fee, Rangers could recoup that sum 100 times over after the Nigerian international’s multi-million move was confirmed.

Bassey will wear the number 33 in Amsterdam after completing the deal which could fetch upwards of €26.5m with an initial €23m fee agreed. Rangers were also keen to insert a 10 per cent sell-on should the Dutch side move the Italian-born Nigeria defender on.

The defender made fleeting appearances in his first season under Steven Gerrard at both left-back and centre-back before establishing himself in the Ibrox first-team late last year, totalling 65 appearances at the club before his move to the Netherlands.

A run to the Europa League Final where the 22-year-old continued to impress lured suitors and, with English Premier League sides keen, particularly Brighton and Hove Albion, plus clubs in the German Bundesliga, Rangers have now cashed in on their asset.

Announcing the transfer, and the Super Eagle’s arrival at the club’s Austrian pre-season training camp, Ajax posted a picture of a grinning Bassey captioned “Ready to let you smile.” Rangers are equally pleased at the record deal and a club statement from Ibrox confirmed the “deal which is the largest in Rangers’ history”.

Calvin Bassey has joined Ajax in a record transfer sale for Rangers. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Calvin leaves with best wishes from everyone at Rangers and we thank him for his hard work and commitment over the past two seasons,” it added.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has already re-invested in his defence and confirmed Ben Davies’ arrival on Tuesday night ahead of the 3-1 friendly win over West Ham.

Income from Bassey’s adds to a lucrative year so far for Rangers. Nathan Patterson moved to Everton in January to boost Ibrox coffers with a deal worth £16m for the home-reared defender. Joe Aribo who, like his international team-mate Bassey, moved north for a six-figure development fee, joined Southampton earlier this month in a transfer worth between £6m and £10m – a fee which also represents a considerable profit on the club’s initial outlay.