New Rangers signing Clinton Nsiala could be the second coming of Calvin Bassey at Ibrox.
That's the viewpoint of former player Marco Negri.
The Italian has watched plenty of the young Frenchman arriving from AC Milan later this month.
Nsiala became the third signing by Philippe Clement this summer, with Jefte and Oscar Cortes already over the lines.
Negri admits he'd be surprised to see Nsiala, 20, feature heavily at the beginning for the Scottish Premiership side.
But likening him to Bassey - who arrived for a nominal fee from Leicester City in 2020 before moving to Ajax for £20m in 2022 - he admits Rangers have got to hope he pans out in a similar fashion.
He told the Daily Record: “I know Clinton well. I’ve watch at lot of the AC Milan youth team and I’m always looking around to see which young players are breaking through.
“He’s a centre-back with a very good, modern profile. Very, very aggressive, a good left foot and comfortable on the ball. But he’s very young and he’s only played Under-19s football which is very different to first-team level.
“Of course he has to improve. I believe Philippe Clement speaks a little French having worked with Monaco so hopefully that means the language won’t be a barrier and he can work with Clinton. But this is a player you need to have patience with and wait for him to adjust. There’s a lot of work to be done.
“On the other side, Clinton must realise where he is going because Rangers is not a normal club. He has to know he’s joining a great club but also one with a lot a expectations and games like the Old Firm that are very different to what he will have experienced before.
“He must be ready for that. There’s two sides to this signing. He’s a development player so he needs that time - but on the other hand, no-one gets too much time at Ibrox. You must perform and go step by step. But I’m confident he can be a good signing.”
“The hope of everyone at Ibrox is that Clinton follows the same path as Bassey,” added Negri. “We all know that Rangers are looking for this kind of player that they can buy for cheap, help him improve and become successful at the club, and then if a bigger club with a lot of money comes along, they can sell him and use the money to buy another player.
“So when you can get a player like Clinton for free, then it’s a gamble worth taking. But Rangers have done well to get to him first. There were other Italian clubs looking at Nsiala, so he’s a player of interest.
“Everyone here in Italy knows he can be a cracking player. The board of Milan were very upset that he didn’t sign a new contract. Rangers are looking to do things that have an eye to the future and he is definitely a player for the future.”
