CALVIN BASSEY has played his last game for Rangers as he closes in on a record-breaking move to Ajax in the coming days.
Boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst left the defender out of his squad for the friendly win over Blackpool on Saturday after Ajax stepped up their interest in one of the Dutchman's prized assets.
Bassey was stand-out performer in the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals last term as he enjoyed a remarkable rise and rise under Van Bronckhorst's guidance during the second half of the season.
A deal worth around £20million, which includes a sell-on fee, is now set to be signed and sealed as Rangers bank a huge profit on the former Leicester City kid just two years after he made the move to Ibrox.
Van Bronckhorst said: "We heard about the interest in Calvin this week from different clubs. You know that if you have players who perform well the interest will come.
“It went to a level where the club thinks the deal might be happening, so that’s why I spoke to Calvin yesterday (Friday) and decided to leave him home.
“We just wait to see what will happen in the coming days to see what will happen but obviously when he isn’t here we are not taking the risk.
“The chances he will leave are very, very high. I don’t think I will have him for this week’s friendlies or the start of the season so that’s why we left him home.
“There are several clubs. I spoke with Ross and he’s dealing with all the interest. I am concentrated on preparing the team for the last week of friendly games.
"The most important thing is that the club is doing everything in their best interest, and that means we might sell."
Van Bronckhorst expressed his hope last week that the Nigerian internationalist would remain in Glasgow for another campaign as Rangers gear up for their Premiership title bid and another shot at the Champions League this term.
Those preparations were boosted with a 2-1 victory at Bloomfield Road as goals from Borna Barisic and Charlie McCann earned the win on a day where it was all about the minutes under the belt for several members of Van Bronckhorst's side.
That, of course, didn't include Bassey and Rangers are now adjusting for life after the versatile stopper as Van Bronckhorst eyes another move in the transfer market to bolster his options at the back.
Van Bronckhorst said: “We have only positives to take. I really enjoyed working with Calvin the last six months.
"His development was incredible how he developed into a central defender – and sometimes as a left back.
“A player like him came from the second team and developed into a top class defender and that’s what you want at your club.
"I’m very proud to be part of that, so he will move on to the next level and develop even more. Of course the club will make money financially too.
“No I don’t know the figure. We’ve done really well so far in getting new players in the positions where positions left so I’m really happy with that.
“We might lose Calvin so we have to move on and be ready for possible players coming in.
"If Calvin is going, he was a left back and a left central defender, so we will look at the qualities of the player and the dynamic to see if we move for one player or two."
