Daley Blind: Rangers must take credit for Calvin Bassey form for Ajax
Ajax defender Daley Blind has heaped praise on Rangers after Calvin Bassey’s recent performances for the Dutch giants.
Bassey completed a £20.7million move to Ajax in the summer after shining for the Gers in the 2021/22 season for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.
The 22-year-old defender has started life well for the Dutch side and his teammate Blind believes Rangers deserve a lot of credit for his current level of performance.
Blind said [as quoted by Daily Record, 4 September]: “Rangers must take credit for the player he is and his development.
“He is a young player still and as a young player it is so important where you can be at a club where you will play and where they obviously want to develop you – and Rangers was that club for him.
“Now he is at Ajax we hope his development can go up a level and he can become one of the best defenders in Europe.
“Of course, we have spoken with him about the game against Rangers to help us prepare. He has only positive things to say about them – but all that will matter will be trying to win the game.”
Tough test
After the Old Firm defeat at the weekend, Rangers’ trip to Amsterdam will be a huge test for van Bronckhorst and his squad.
It is crucial that the Gers don’t suffer another damaging defeat, which would see questions asked of the Dutchman and the board at Ibrox.
The one positive for Rangers is that their form in Europe has been a consistent source of positivity over the past couple of seasons.
Even after the 4-0 defeat to Celtic, it would not be a shock to see the Gers go to Ajax and pick up a result after what they’ve achieved in the past.
With Liverpool and Napoli also occupying their Champions League group, picking up points away from home will be crucial in any hopes they have of qualifying.
The Gers are capable of beating anyone at Ibrox, but they will have to be more resolute on the road and look to frustrate.
The Ibrox faithful will hoping for the Gers to gain some European momentum and get their Scottish Premiership campaign back on track when they travel to Aberdeen on Saturday (10 September).
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart got stuck into one player after what he did in the past week