Rangers icon surprised Super Eagles defender was sold for a similar fee as Arsenal star

Rangers icon Barry Ferguson has admitted his surprise that Nigeria defender Calvin Bassey commanded a similar transfer fee to the deal which took ex-Celtic star Kieran Tierney to Arsenal in the summer of 2019.

Bassey completed a transfer to Dutch side Ajax for a fixed fee of 19 million pounds, a further £3.5 million in add-ons and a sell-on clause also included.

Kieran Tierney's £25 million transfer to the Emirates Stadium from Celtic remains the most expensive sale of a Scottish Premiership player with Bassey's coming a close second.

Ferguson revealed that he believed that Bassey needed to get a similar number of games under his belt before any team would pay such an amount of money for him.

Writing in his column in the Daily Record, Barry Ferguson stated :  "I have believed for a long time now that Bassey had the potential to go all the way to the top.

"That's why I didn't want to see him leave for a fraction of what he will end up being worth one day.

"You look at Arsenal paying out £25m for Kieran Tierney and you realise that clubs are now willing to pay top dollar for the best players in Scottish football.

"And I thought Bassey would have to get a similar number of games under his belt before anyone would match that kind of fee.

"But I was wrong. Ajax saw enough in him over the last six months of last season - when he emerged a real man mountain in van Bronckhorst's defence - to be convinced that he was worth breaking the bank for.

"And Rangers have walked away from the deal with more than £20m for a player they picked up for just £230,000 two years ago. You have to say, that's some bit of business".

The 22-year-old Super Eagle left the Gers after two years with 65 games as a professional under his belt for the Light Blues.

Overtaking the iconic Nigerian centre-back Taribo West who moved to Inter Milan from Auxerre in 1997 for a fee of 12 million euros, Bassey has now become the most expensive Nigerian defender.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

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