Djeidi Gassama is Rangers transfer bargain as Sheffield Wednesday insider reveals true value dwarves £2.2m fee

Daily Record

16-07-2025

Sheffield Wednesday skipper Barry Bannan reckons Rangers have pulled off an outstanding bit of business
Barry Bannan insists Rangers have bagged a bargain with their £2.2million swoop for Djeidi Gassama.
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The Sheffield Wednesday skipper is a huge fan of the French winger, who this week completed a switch from Hillsborough to Ibrox on an initial four-year contract.
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Rangers chiefs have taken advantage of the Owls' cash crisis to land the former PSG winger on a cut-price deal.
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A number of the club's top earners - including Bannan - were shocked to learn that their wages had not been paid in recent months as the club teetered on financial disaster.
With embattled owner Dejphon Chansiri fighting to keep the lights on, Gers boss Russell Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell saw an opportunity to secure the exciting wideman at a fraction of his true value.
Wednesday's Yorkshire fanbase are now keeping fingers crossed that a takeover bid being led by a mystery consortium can provide a way out of their nightmare.
But the sale of the club will come too late for the Owls punters who believe their club let Gassama go on the cheap - a view that's shared by his former captain.
Bannan told Record Sport: 'Only time will tell but I think if Sheffield Wednesday were not in the circumstances that they are currently in, the fee demanded would have been a lot, lot higher than one Rangers paid - and they would probably have got it as well.
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'Obviously the people at Rangers have sensed what was happening down here and realised that they can get it at a good price. Fair play to them, they got a cracking deal done.'
Gassama was schooled in Paris alongside global superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
But Bannan believes Russell Martin is the right man to shape the next phase in his footballing development.
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Bannan said: 'Djeidi obviously came through at the PSG academy and was out training with their first team players when they had the big three of Messi, Mbappe, Neymar.
'So he's obviously learned from the best that there's ever been in football.
'You can tell he always wants to learn as well and when you give him information, you can see that he's listening and taking it on.
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'I have no doubt he's probably done that with those three superstars as well when he was at PSG.
'He's had good coaches obviously as well, which he's been really lucky with because at a young age it is important that you get the right mentors.
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'Obviously he had Mauricio Pochettino as his PSG manager at that time and then he came to Wednesday, where he has worked under Danny Rohl who's got a good pedigree in the game too.
'Now he's obviously going to work with Russell Martin, who has a style of football that everybody probably wants to play so I'm sure he'll really enjoy that.'