Rangers icon, Barry Ferguson has expressed surprise that Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey was sold for a similar transfer fee to that of former Celtic star Kieran Tierney.
Tierney joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019 for a fee of £25 million paid to Celtic.
Tierney’s deal to Arsenal remains the most expensive sale of a footballer from the Scottish Premiership with Bassey’s coming a close second.
Nigeria International Bassey joined Ajax for a fixed fee of 19 million pounds with a further £3.5 million in add-ons.
“I have believed for a long time now that Bassey had the potential to go all the way to the top,” Ferguson wrote on Daily Record
“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”.
