THE bumper fee which Ajax paid to Rangers for Calvin Bassey has been questioned by a Dutch football legend. 

René van der Gijp reckons the Eredivisie giants paid too much for the Nigeria international during the summer. 

Bassey joined the Amsterdam club during the latest window, with Rangers happy to let their top talent go for a record fee of £20million. 

With subsequent add-ons, the overall fee could rise to as high as £23million. 

However, the ex-Leicester City academy player has endured a ropey start to life at Ajax, with some pundits and fans disappointed with his recent performances. 

And after Ajax's latest Champions League defeat to Napoli on Wednesday, van der Gijp admits he can't believe the money that was spent on Bassey. 

Questioning why Bassey was brought in to replace Lisandro Martinez - who was sold to Manchester United - he told Voetbal Primeur: “If you spend €24m for Bassey, you must have seen him all year, right?

"€24m, how high do you set the bar? They spend €5m for Francisco Conceição, fine. But €24m for Bassey, no.”

Ex-Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz jumped to the defence of Bassey, though.

He added: "It's not really fair. Then we compare Bassey, who has just arrived, with a Martínez who is leaving at his peak.

"He's in that spot, but Martínez was a typical defender and I think that was the nice thing about Daley Blind.

"He could attack relaxed and everything that happened in his back, he had Martínez for that."