Ajax wants to make a play for Rangers defender Calvin Bassey with part of their huge transfer gains.
The race for the 22-year-old Ibrox star is heating up, but Brighton is a rival that the Dutch giants must contend with. Sportsmail is aware that both teams have made approaches, but neither has yet to make an acceptable offer.
Following Bassey's outstanding breakout season, Rangers are eager to keep him and have given him a £25 million price tag.
As they get ready to make about £46 million from the sale of Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United, Ajax wants to put that commitment to the test.
Bassey is the Martinez replacement Alfred Schreuder prefers, and according to a Dutch news story, the two have already spoken on the phone.
Sebastian Haller and Ryan Gravenberch were sold by the Amsterdam club to Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, respectively, for more than £40 million this summer.
They spent £26 million for Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn and £9 million on AZ Alkmaar defender Owen Wijndal, and now they have Bassey squarely in their sights.
It is believed that Brighton has been interested for longer than their Dutch competitors.
The ninth-placed English Premier League team could be in line for their own transfer bonanza if Manchester City are successful in their pursuit of left-back Marc Cucurella.
Several clubs in Germany and Italy, as well as Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa, have been closely following Bassey's situation.
Under Giovanni van Bronckhorst's direction, the Nigerian international made quick improvement after the Dutchman took over as manager of Ibrox in November after Gerrard retired.
In addition to being the player of the match as Rangers defeated Hearts to win the Scottish Cup at the end of the previous season, he was a standout in the Europa League final loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Recently, Van Bronckhorst expressed his desire for Bassey's growth to continue at Ibrox. The player's current contract has two years left, thus this transfer window might be the best opportunity to make back the $230,000 that was spent to acquire Bassey from Leicester City in 2020.
Rangers are still actively trying to bolster their team while that issue is still present.
Rabbi Matondo, a Welsh winger, was signed by the Ibrox club for £2.5 million this week. Earlier, Tom Lawrence, Antonio Colak, and John Souttar had also signed with the club.
Another target is Malik Tillman of Bayern Munich, who can play as an attacking midfielder or striker, as Sportsmail reported earlier this week.
According to reports from Germany, English clubs are vying with Rangers for the loan of the 20-year-old American international.
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