Calvin Bassey, a defender for the Super Eagles, has formally agreed to a five-year contract with Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands.
Ajax announced on their website on Wednesday that they had acquired Bassey from Scottish club Rangers.
The Dutch behemoths announced they paid Rangers FC around 23 million euros to capture Bassey, who was also being pursued by a number of other clubs, particularly those in the English Premier League.
The club statement read: “Ajax has reached an agreement with Rangers FC and Calvin Bassey for the transfer of the defender to Amsterdam.
The English-Nigerian player and Ajax have agreed to terms of a deal that will go into effect right away and last for five seasons, or until June 30, 2027. Ajax will give Rangers FC a transfer fee of EUR 23 million. When factors are taken into account, that sum might reach EUR 26.5 million.
On December 31, 1999, in Modena, Italy, Calvin Bassey was born. The Rangers FC deal with the Nigerian international ran through the middle of 2024. He arrived in Austria today to begin training with the first team.
In his first season at Rangers, when they won their first top-flight championship in ten years, Bassey only made 15 appearances.
He played in 50 games last season, though, as the Ibrox club advanced to the Europa League final and took home the Scottish Cup.
With the departure of Bassey, Rangers’ top three Nigerian players—Joe Aribo, who is currently with Southampton, and Leon Balogun, whose contract at Ibrox is up soon—have all left the club.
While Bassey will be eager to follow in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen who have all achieved success with Ajax in the past, he will be counting down to August 6 when his Amsterdam club faces PSV to begin the Eredivisie title defense.
On that wealthy list are people like Tijani Babaginda, Finidi Geroge Sunday Oliseh, and Kanu Nwankwo.