Calvin Bassey was a typical picture of happiness and gratitude as he took in a special moment of reflection pre-match last Wednesday.
The Nigerian international has worked selflessly with a lot of diligence to put himself into this position, as he prepared to test himself on the Champions League stage alongside Rangers.
That really means against rather than for, in what is the sort of twist of fate that football has a habit of producing.
Plucked from Leicester City’s development squad in the Summer of 2020, a year of bedding in followed as he played a part in the team that won the Premiership title under Steven Gerrard. Even last season, he was widely considered to be Borna Barisic’s understudy but his breakthrough arrived then later, turbo-charged with the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Some specifics on the training pitch, hard work from the player and an evidence of significant improvement on the pitch highlighted by his impressive displays in the Europa League were the catalyst for the multi-million move to Amsterdam that followed.
When dreams come true… ❤️
🥹 @CalvinBassey pic.twitter.com/R66FsNkIaD
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) September 9, 2022
It was a strange sight to see Bassey lining up against Rangers and then in a few weeks time he will have an Ibrox return to embrace.
Seeing what one of ‘our’ players has achieved personally as well as the club record transfer fee is very significant and has to be a source of pride. There are others who will feel that Rangers should have held on longer, for a potential sale upon reaching the Champions League but there is also the thought of Bassey possibly regressing in the team at present, given how low morale and performances are.
Regardless, it was great business for a terrific person and a cracking footballer who is only going to get better.