Mesdames et Messieurs, meet Neraysho Kasanwirjo, a rather formidable figure of a defender and current wearer of the number 24 jersey for Rangers. Born on the 18th of February 2002, this makes our dear friend 23 years old - practically a pup in the grand football timeline. He passed his formative footballing years in the lowlands of the Netherlands, which, in addition to its tulips and windmills, also seems to produce rather proficient footballers - or so it would seem.
Tall as a doorpost at 6 feet (1.85m our continental friends), he could also pass for a lightweight boxer, tipping the scales at about 11 stone 13lbs (or 77kg if you prefer unruly decimalisations). Nice and sturdy that, just the sort you'd want standing firm in your defence. Also, he's had a stint with the Netherlands Under-21 national side, rubbing shoulders with some of the most promising clogs-wearing talent.
Transfermarkt (bless their cotton socks) presently rank his market value at around a rather pleasant £1.5m. Not too shabby, I dare say. His tenure with the Rangers is set to conclude a mere two months hence, on the 30th of June 2025.
Now to a brief chronological dance through his footballing career. Starting off in 2011, young Kasanwirjo joined Jong Ajax in the Eerste Divisie in the Netherlands. Four league matches played in his debut season and 34 in the next, including one goal-scored — not a bad show for a fledgling centre-back. A move to FC Groningen in the Eredivisie followed, where he had two reasonable seasons - netting the ball once in 32 appearances in the first and then making 15 appearances the following season.
Feyenoord saw fit to acquire Kasanwirjo's services in 2023 for an agreeable sum of £1.5m. His stay there was however nothing to write home about, featuring just seven times over two seasons in the league.
Finding himself loaned out to Rapid Vienna in the Austrian Bundesliga, he managed 23 league appearances on foreign soil before merrily returning to Feyenoord, where his match appearances returned to their earlier modest numbers.
Our dear friend Kasanwirjo's latest adventure in 2024 brought him to our beloved nation's shores at none other than Rangers, on yet another loan (a collector of temporary homes is our man). He's had half a dozen appearances this season in the top-tier Scottish Premiership - an endeavour one hopes he finds more successful than his others.
The lad's also had his moments in the League Cup (two substitute appearances), UEFA U21 Championship Qualifiers (four starts and one substitute appearance), and in the Europa League (one start and three substitute appearances), all during the 2024-2025 season. One hopes he doesn't tire himself out.
