Selling Bassey is about messaging as much as the money so a deal had to be done
COUNTERINTUITIVE as it may seem, and as disappointing as it will no doubt be to manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst following remarks this week about wishing to keep the player, Rangers had to sell Calvin Bassey to the highest bidder to really go to the next level.
Sure, the £20million or so plus add-ons that now looks certain to be paid by Ajax for the 22-year-old will come in extremely handy. This is about more than just money, though. It is about messaging.
Same goes for the grand push to reach the Champions League group stages alongside Celtic with the draw for the third qualifying round taking place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon tomorrow morning.
Everyone knows just what a boon it would be for the Ibrox club, under pressure now to show they can live up to the promises of being self-sufficient and profit-making, to secure expected returns somewhere north of £30m by making it into the competition proper.
Yet, the statement of intent that breaking through the gates into that lucrative, rarefied arena would make is arguably just as important. If not more so.
And with their co-efficient ensuring they will go into the hat as a seeded club when the balls start rolling in Switzerland, there is no reason why they should not believe that can happen.
An advantageous position in the draw is one tangible spin-off from reaching last season’s Europa League final. However, there are other signs that the profile gained from that fine achievement has created a terrific platform from which to build.
For the first time in a long time, there is proper, serious interest in their players. The focus on Bassey (right) from Ajax, Brighton and others was intense. The opportunity to build that ‘trading model’ Rangers have often spoken about — and never really bothered to action — is now upon them.
What’s more, there is clear evidence that ambitious, young players are looking seriously towards Ibrox as an attractive option for career advancement in the wake of watching them in a European final.
The capture of 20-year-old Malik Tillman on loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy is exactly the kind of thing Rangers should be doing. Move Joe Aribo on to Southampton for £10m — a decent price which would have been better had he not been one of several assets allowed to move into the last year of his contract — and bring in a younger, cheaper model who can be developed.
Yes, Tillman is largely unproven. He has only played a handful of times for Bayern, but he has also earned a call-up to the United States squad this year and should gain more experience at international level by gaining more first-team exposure in Glasgow. He is no Amad Diallo or Aaron Nemane.
Rabbi Matondo is an interesting signing, too. An international with Wales, still aged just 21 and having enjoyed a decent season on loan at Cercle Brugge from Schalke, his price of £2.5m looks justified and capable of turning future profit providing he can iron out some of the rawness in his game. These guys are coming because they can see there is a stage. A chance to shine and breathe and express themselves that may not exist in harder, harsher leagues. Aribo’s move to Southampton shows that Scottish football can be a springboard to bigger and better things. Nathan Patterson even got a £12m move to Everton when he didn’t play in it.
Selling Bassey to a proper big-hitter such as Ajax for a substantial sum is sure to make even more players and their agents sit up and realise what can be made possible by moving here and showcasing their talent. Much as he will be missed, his transfer, providing it is completed on the appropriate terms, has the potential to create a vitally important legacy.
Yes, Van Bronckhorst is correct in stating that Bassey probably would benefit from another year or two at Rangers. He maybe isn’t at the stage where slotting into the first team elsewhere would be a given. However, from Rangers’ perspective, you have to strike while the iron is hot and take these deals when they present themselves rather than hanging around and losing out as they did when Lille offered £16m for Alfredo Morelos.
Getting that whole package worth over £20m plus a sell-on clause for the Nigeria internationalist is important, too, though. He represented the one big chance Rangers had to show they can strike major deals for top-dollar. And with Ajax, in particular, having £46m loitering around from the sale of Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United, it seemed perfectly reasonable to be pitching high and refusing to blink.
When other players see that you can be a conduit to life-changing moves and incredible experiences, you become ever more attractive. And if Rangers can get into the Champions League groups — with the play-off round scheduled to end on August 24 — that would give them some extra bargaining power going into the final week of the transfer window.
Right now, Rangers are scheduled to draw one of AS Monaco, Sturm Graz, Union Saint-Gilloise and the winners of Midtjylland and AEK Larnaca. In the play-off, the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev could be possible opponents too.
Not a fait accompli, by any stretch of the imagination, but eminently doable when placed against the achievements of last term in defeating Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig among others in Europe.
There is nothing easy in entering full-tilt into a cycle of selling your best players, sourcing inventive replacements, managing contracts and dealing with the weight of still being expected to succeed. It’s a precarious balancing act.
Rangers also need to find a way to show there is a pathway to the first team from their youth academy and it is why the arrival of the likes of Tillman cannot be allowed to stymie the progress of the likes of 19-year-old Alex Lowry, who has too much to offer to be loaned out.
The importance of the coming weeks for the Ibrox club cannot be underestimated, though. Rather than merely shaping the current campaign alone, they have the potential to set the foundations for the club’s entire mid-term future.
Capitalising fully on Bassey and letting it be known their ambitions in the market match their ambitions on the field seems a suitable place to kick off.