Best signing since Bassey: Rangers have struck gold on their “cult hero”

Glasgow Rangers and the transfer market have not exactly been the best of friends over the previous few years.

Since securing promotion back to the Premiership ahead of the 20161/7 campaign, the Ibrox side have made plenty of dismal signings. Where to start?

Pedro Caixinha spent money on the likes of Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, who both failed to live up to expectations, while even Steven Gerrard made a few howlers, especially during his early transfer windows.

The former Liverpool captain signed flops such as Umar Sadiq and Eros Grezda in 2018, a few years before spending money on Juninho Bacuna and Cedric Itten.

Sam Lammers, Ben Davies and Jose Cifuentes are just a few of the players who have been signed by managers since Gerrard left, with all three struggling to perform in Scotland.

While these types of signings typically outweigh the positive ones, when the club do sign a player who has excellent potential, it usually ends up rather well.

Joe Aribo was sold for around £10m in the summer of 2020, having cost the Gers just £300k three years previously. Of the current squad, Hamza Igamane looks certain to make the Light Blues a significant profit due to his performances this season.

One of the club’s finest signings – from a financial point of view anyway – was Calvin Bassey. The defender is now playing in the Premier League for Fulham, but Rangers gave him his big break.

Why Calvin Bassey was sold for a club-record fee

In the summer of 2020, Gerrard added a few players to his squad in a bid to challenge Celtic for the Premiership trophy during 2020/21.

Ianis Hagi signed permanently, while Cedric Itten, Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun also arrived at Ibrox. It was the deal to bring Bassey to Scotland which looked the most promising, however.

Due to cross-border rules, the left-back cost just £200k in a compensation fee from Leicester City, and he was one for the future.

Indeed, Gerrard utilised his talents on just 15 occasions throughout the 2020/21 season, but things were about to get better.

With a defensive injury crisis hitting the squad hard during the early stages of the following campaign, Bassey was deployed as a centre-back alongside Connor Goldson and it soon progressed into a solid partnership.

Once he got his chance in the starting XI, Bassey never left, making 50 appearances in all competitions as the Gers reached the Europa League final while winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years.

These performances would ultimately lead to the Nigerian international departing the club, with plenty of European sides showing interest that summer.

In the end, Ajax secured his services on a permanent deal for a fee of just under £23m, which was a club-record transfer.

It’s fair to say that he has been one of the finest signings of modern times, but is there a player in the current squad who has surpassed him recently?

Rangers’ best signing since Bassey

Losing Scott Wright last summer meant Philippe Clement had a single right-winger in the squad – Ross McCausland – which meant this area needed a swift upgrade.

There were several players linked with a move to Ibrox, but due to limited funds being available, the Belgian manager had to rely on a loan signing, which saw Vaclav Cerny join the Light Blues on a temporary deal until the end of the current season.

Having scored five goals for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg during the 2023/24 campaign, Cerny looked like an exciting wide option for Rangers. He also scored against Celtic for Ajax, which would certainly help endear him to the supporters during his early weeks.

These first couple of weeks were mixed. The Czech star delivered a few decent displays, but he was poor against Lyon in a 4-1 Europa League defeat. He missed a big chance during that game and lost possession 11 times.

Two goals against St Johnstone just a few days later proved that his woeful European display was just a one-off and he has kicked on since then.

Overall, the loanee has netted an impressive tally of 17 goals across 44 matches, chipping in with seven assists too. The 27-year-old has saved his best football – minus the Lyon clash – for the Europa League, netting six goals in Europe’s secondary competition.

Furthermore, the winger has created two big chances, averages 1.3 key passes per game and succeeds with 2.3 dribbles each match, showcasing his skills against superior opposition.

Rangers won the recent Old Firm derby against Celtic 3-2 courtesy of a late winner by Igamane, who lashed in an effort when it appeared as though the match was going to finish as a draw.

The real hero of that game was Cerny, however, who ended up soaking Celtic supporters with a bottle of water while celebrating the goal.

Journalist Matthew Lindsay praised the winger, describing him as a “cult hero” following that “moment of madness”

According to Transfermarkt, Cerny is now valued at €9m (£7.5m) and, given his displays for the Gers recently, he will be a man in demand this summer.

Whoever becomes the new permanent manager of Rangers will have to decide whether spending money on Cerny is worth it, especially as there are other areas of the squad requiring some investment.

Cerny has endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful with his goals and antics during the latest derby win. If he did join the club this summer, could he be one of their best signings in recent memory?

The next few months will be interesting indeed.