Brighton and Ajax in talks to sign Rangers defender Calvin Bassey

Brighton and Ajax have held talks with Rangers over the transfer of Calvin Bassey.

The 22-year-old defender has become a key player at Ibrox since signing from Leicester for £230,000 in the summer of 2020.

Bassey, who can play left-back and centre-back, has attracted the attention of several other clubs and it is understood that Ajax head coach Alfred Schreuder has spoken to the Nigeria international by telephone.

It has been widely reported that Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez is set to join Manchester United in a £46million deal.

As the Ibrox board begin to ramp up their player trading model, the Govan club are looking to bring in what could be a record fee for Bassey, who still has two years left on his current deal.

Right-back and Gers academy graduate Nathan Patterson moved to Everton in January for a fee reported as £11.5m plus add-ons – the biggest fee received by Rangers to date.

Bassey concluded last season with storming performances in the Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville and the Scottish Cup final win over Hearts at Hampden Park, which added to the cinch Premiership title he won the previous year.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is refurbishing his squad ahead of the new season and a fifth addition was confirmed on Friday night with the loan signing of Bayern Munich midfielder Malik Tillman.

The 20-year-old, who was born in Germany but has been capped twice by the United States, has move to Ibrox on a season-long loan with Rangers having an option to buy.

Van Bronckhorst said on his club’s website: “He is an exciting young talent who will further add to our attacking options and myself and the coaching staff are looking forward to working with him.”

The Gers boss has already added Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and John Souttar to his ranks this summer as they look to wrest the title back from Celtic.

Rangers have loaned midfielder Ben Williamson to Dundee for next season.

The 20-year-old had temporary spells with Livingston and Raith Rovers last term.