This article was first published when Neraysho Kasanwirjo signed for Rangers.

Versatility. That’s the first word Philippe Clement used to describe Neraysho Kasanwirjo speaking at a press conference the day after the defender’s deadline day move to Rangers.

The 22-year-old was an unused substitute at Parkhead in a deflating 3-0 Old Firm defeat the following afternoon, with a first-hand view of the defence he’s been signed to improve and reinforce. The position those appearances arrive in remains to be seen but based on the Dutchman’s career to date, that is very much the point.

A product of the Ajax youth academy who joined Groningen aged 19 on a three-year deal before earning a move to Feyenoord last January, Kasanwirjo’s previous spells in midfield, at right-back and centre-back are telling of the type of player he is. Based on the footballing education he was subject too at Ajax.

The Rangers Review caught up with a couple of the new arrival’s former and current coaches to learn more.

Kasanwirjo, often referred to as Nana, was first scouted by Ajax at the age of nine and remained at the Johan Cruijff Arena for a decade. Aged 19 in the summer of 2021 he signed a three-year deal with Eredivisie outfit Groningen upon the expiry of his contract in Amsterdam. It was there he’d work with Alfons Arts, Groningen’s assistant manager from 2020 to 2023.

“Nana joined us from Ajax as a talented young player, it was here that I spent over two years working with him,” Arts tells the Rangers Review.

“We brought him to Groningen as a centre-back but given our style of play, he was also capable of playing at right-back and in centre-midfield. If you know how Ajax works, they always play from ball possession because that is their philosophy.

“If they play ten games they’ll be the better team in nine of them. Defensively, they don’t have to worry that much and I’ve witnessed that a little bit with a lot of the players I’ve worked with who are products of the Ajax academy. Let’s just say that at Groningen we weren’t good enough to be better than the opponent nine games out of 10! That was something Nana had to adjust to, but he always wanted to become better.

“We found him to be a very good player on the ball, capable with his left and right foot. He wants to get on the ball and can dribble or pass forward. We tried to form him into a more complete player defensively.”

The fact that Kasanwirjo has played across a variety of positions shows what he offers, in theory, to Clement. The Belgian manager wants his full-backs to be multi-dimensional in the roles and responsibilities they occupy and assume. Capable of moving inside the pitch or staying on the outside to receive and bypass pressure by the touchline.

The signing of Jefte in place of Borna Barisic, for example, is far more aligned with Clement’s plan for full-backs to build play quickly and individually, before moving into narrow zones higher up the pitch, enabling wingers to stretch the pitch and midfielders to run beyond.

Although versatility can be viewed as a buzzword for a player not capable of holding down one position, in Kasanwirjo's case it speaks to his rounded development in possession at Ajax and the ever-evolving role of full-backs.

Football increasingly requires players who can fit 'roles' rather than 'positions'. For example, one full-back may be only able to bomb up and down the line in the outside channel while another can support the midfield, stretch the pitch or move into the centre of defence. Jefte is capable of playing on left-wing as well as left-midfield and Dujon Sterling centre-midfield as well as full-back. 

Similarly, the blend of pace off the ball and a youth career spent dictating games from defence should mean that Kasanwirjo is a profile who could succeed at centre-back in a high-possession team. He’s a player who can receive in the centre during the build-up, a profile Rangers currently lack at full-back. With that said, there are elements to his game that require refining given the risks he takes.

“He’s an aggressive defender who plays on the front foot,” Arts continues.

“The only problem is sometimes when he goes into a duel, Nana is too focused on keeping the ball - sometimes when you duel you need to only make sure that your opponent doesn’t keep the ball. That’s one area in which he can improve.

“The advantage for Nana is that he’s strong on the ball and capable of playing in midfield - so he can choose moments to influence the game not only on the sideline but in the middle of the pitch too. You see with a lot of clubs now, full-backs can be wingers or play low by the sidelines, sometimes inside the pitch too. That’s a position he can fill very well.

“On the ball, Nana takes a lot of risks in his dribbling and passing but he is normally very comfortable in possession. Another area of improvement is that sometimes, he can be a player who is totally focused for 89 minutes but in one moment everything can be blown away.

“I think playing next to Robin Propper would be good for him, to coach him through the game. Those two could be a very good couple in the defence. Not dissimilar to the partnership that Propper had with Mees Hilgers (a faster, young centre-back) at FC Twente. They speak the same language which can be an important detail on the pitch.”

An impressive year and a half at Groningen, predominantly playing in the centre of defence, caught the eye of now Liverpool manager Arne Slot whose Feyenoord side were on their way to the league title when they bought Kasanwirjo in January of 2023.

“Arne Slot was looking for a player who could occupy more than one position across the defence and midfield and that’s one of the reasons that he took Nana to Feyenoord after we spoke with him,” Arts adds.

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“For Feyenoord at the price they could purchase Nana and given his versatility, it was an interesting deal.”

Kasanwirjo played sporadically for the Rotterdam outfit, mainly at right-back, before the end of the 2022/23 season. Game time in that position competing with Lutsharel Geertruida, now a RB Leipzig player, would result in a loan deal the following season. A year at Rapid Wien in Austria saw the majority of Kasanwirjo minutes arrive at full-back.

Comfortable inverting inside the pitch but still learning the consistency required to be a centre-back at a dominant team it’s as a full-back that Kasanwirjo has largely featured since leaving Groningen in early 2023. 

“Neraysho is a versatile defender, and the important thing for me also is that he's used to playing in Feyenoord, in De Kuip, a stadium where you have a similar atmosphere to Ibrox, with fans who are demanding, who are on top of the players, who are on top of the pitch,” Clement said when discussing his new arrival last week.

“Even though he’s a young player, he has the experience, also with Holland Under-21s, and playing abroad already, so he can give us the versatility to be one of the centre-backs, but also can play on right or left full-back. He gives more depth in the squad in that way.”

With appearances across a variety of youth squads, Kasanwirjo has featured seven times at Under-21 level for the Netherlands, where his former Ajax coach Michael Reiziger is in charge.

‘’I’ve known Neraysho for a long time already. I worked with him in the youth academy of Ajax. Neraysho is a very good defender, who always gives everything he has. Also, he has a great mentality,” Reiziger told the Rangers Review.

“He didn’t make it through to the first team of Ajax, but he developed well at FC Groningen, Feyenoord and later Rapid Wien. That’s why he came to our attention for the Under-21 squad. At our team, he plays a good role in the group. He is a person who can take responsibility and therefore can be important for us.

"Because of the competition on his position and the fact that he didn’t make a lot of playing minutes lately, he wasn’t selected for this international period. I expect that Neraysho will do well in Scotland. I think that the competition and playing style will suit him well. With his game approach and mentality, he will be a great asset for Rangers.’’

“Yesterday I sent him a message, I was glad he found another big club in Europe and hopefully he can play more games than he did at Feyenoord. I think a young talented player needs a lot of games to develop,” Arts concludes. 

Still under contract until 2027 at Feyenoord, Kasanwirjo is not coming to Glasgow to only prop up the team from the sidelines. He’s at an age where first-team football is vital to kick on and discover consistency. While the position those minutes will arrive in remains to be seen at Rangers, Clement and co will hope that versatility can be a strength in this scenario.