Just when you thought you'd heard every possible footballer's name under the sun, along comes Djeidi Gassama. Breaking up the monotonous sea of Smiths and Jones, he makes his appearance. The Mauritanian chap, a mere sprout at 22 years old, seemed destined to kick a football for a living. Fitting in the mould of mediocrity perfectly, or rather, unsettlingly well, Gassama stands at a striking 5ft 9in (1.77m) and weighs in at an average 11st (70kg), which I'm told is acceptable for a professional footballer these days. Apparently, numbers were running a bit thin at Rangers when he arrived, hence he ended up with the number 23 on his back. According to Transfermarkt, the lad’s worth nearly £2.6m - not bad for someone whose entire job is to kick a bit of leather around.
Having honed his skills at Paris Saint-Germain (honestly, where else?), young Gassama had his humble start in the big leagues in 2021. Not quite becoming the Parisian sensation PSG might have hoped (one appearance, no goals - truly commendable), he was thriftily shipped out on loan to Eupen in Belgium. 19 appearances and 2 goals later, this diamond in the rough was ready for bigger and better things - the grand stage of Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship in England.
Buy him they did - for an undisclosed fee (presumably for reasons of national security). Perhaps they saw a glint of potential in the lad or perhaps they just liked his name. Either way, during the 2023-2025 seasons, Gassama decided to pull his socks up a bit, appearing a whopping 78 times and managing to hammer home a grand total of 10 goals. Quite extraordinary.
Just as the Wednesday faithful were getting used to the sight of Gassama huffing and puffing his way around the pitch, Rangers decided they wanted that magic for themselves and, in 2025, they paid £2.2m for the privilege. So far, it can only be regarded as money well spent with Gassama racking up ten appearances (because apparently, that’s a benchmark)
Gassama, evidently reveling in his newfound mediocrity, has even branched out into cup competitions. He graced the League Cup with a solitary start for Rangers, but truly came into his own in European competition. Certainly, a towering 4 goals in 6 games in the Champions League Qualifiers, and another goal in 3 Europa League matches is contribution far beyond what anyone could reasonably expect, which actually makes it all more suspect.
