Vaclav Cerny: the name graces the Rangers squad list like a Guinness stain on a wedding dress. Born on 17th October 1997, this 27-year old has donned many jerseys in his short career, traipsing from one club to another, to another. But for now, he's wearing the colours of Rangers and taking his position as a plaything in their forward line. Right winger is where you'll typically find him, standing 5ft 10 in (1.78m) of height and weighing in at a respectable 10st 9lbs (68kg).
According to Trusty Transfermarkt (source), this ball-booter from the Czech Republic currently boasts a market value of about £7.5 million. But I wouldn’t hold your breath because his contract with Rangers is on the downward slope, with just four months left to run.
Remember January 2014? Me neither. But let me rekindle for you: this was when wee Cerny skipped from 1. FK Příbram in the exotic National Football League of the Czech Republic to Ajax for a snip at £650k.
During his time in Ajax, his first team appearances gradually whittled from a not-so-whopping seven in season 2015-2016 to a lean four by season 2017-2018. Goals? Well, he managed to eat one in that time.
Fast forward to July 2019, and our wandering winger flitted to FC Utrecht for a fee marginally above his Ajax getaway, lighting a £680k-shaped hole in their bank account. His tenure there was a turbulent tour de force of middling mediocrity: 13 appearances, no goals.
July 2020 rolled around, and Cerny was shuffled onto FC Twente on loan. Nothing to laugh about here. Over the next three seasons, he bombed around the pitch, amassing 66 appearances and planting 20 goals into the net, more or less justifying the £860k they forked out for him in 2021.
A brief detour to Germany saw him take Wolfsburg for a £7.7m ride in July 2023, where he managed to chalk up a mediocre 22 appearances, netting four goals.
One year later, Cerny graced Scotland's Premiership by joining Rangers on loan, where, at the time of writing, he's dribbled through 27 matches and belted 11 goals into the back of the net.
His clutch of cup participations reads like a tally of disappointments, with one Scottish Cup start, four in the League Cup, and a scattering of contributions in various European contests. His strikes for the Czech national team have at least been vaguely noteworthy, netting three from four starts during the Euro Qualifiers 2022-2024.
Vaclav Cerny, stalwart journeyman of European football: rarely spectacular, generally mediocre, but always just there, hustling on the right wing. Yes, we have him in the here and now, but for how long? One can only surmise.
