Ah, Vaclav Cerny. Born in the omnifarious land of the Czech Republic back in '97, the lad is now gracing our beautiful game at the age of 27. He's a versatile forward; right wing is his main haunt, but don't underestimate his pliability. Currently he's doing his thing over at Rangers, donning the number 18. Impressive height on him too – stands at 5 foot 10 (that's 1.78m for the non-imperial folk amongst us), and tips the scales at roughly 10 stone 9 (or 68kg for the continental folks counting) – a healthy figure, I'd say. His deft footwork hasn't gone unnoticed. Czech Republic found a gem – a polished performer who has graced their national team.
As of late, Transfermarkt slapped an estimated market value on him of around €8.00m. That, dear readers, converts to something like £7m. And what a bargain, given the lad's got seven months left on his contract with Rangers. The clock is ticking, the suspense is mounting... 30 June 2025 is a looming date.
Do you remember, back in January 2014, when Cerny was a rough diamond at 1. FK Příbram? Packing his gear from Czech Republic, he transferred to the renowned Ajax, shelling out a modest £650k. After the move, he had meagre outings and little showings. The lad was still finding his feet...
Fast forward to July 2019, he was waving goodbye to Ajax and saying 'Hoi!' to Utrecht - with a shinier transfer tag of approximately £680k attached to him. In Utrecht, he finally got the game time he'd been craving – 13 appearances in the Eredivisie.
After taking loans seriously – as in literally – he hopped on over to FC Twente in 2020. During his tenure, he showcased his prowess with 6 goals from just 16 league outings in his first season. The subsequent seasons saw steady growth; the lad scored 14 goals from 50 outings – consistent, without question.
He then made an about-face, switched sides, and transferred to Wolfsburg in July 2023, burning quite a hole in their pocket with a transfer fee of around £7.7m. The Bundesliga was not short of treats as Cerny brought his magic for a season, with 22 appearances and 4 goals to show for it.
In a twist of events, he found himself heading towards our bonny land. Rangers scooped him up on loan in 2024. Currently into the '24-'25 season, Cerny has notched up 13 appearances and 6 goals. Impressive tally, innit?
Cerny's journey has also been adorned with varied cup stints. From his three starts for the Rangers in the '24 -'25 League Cup, to his outings with the Czech Rep. in the Euro 2024 and Nations League '24-'25. He's got goals in Euro Qualifiers (3 from 5 starts), and generating excitement in the Europa League with three goals in six starts for the Rangers. So there we have it, Vaclav Cerny – a wanderer, a starter, a scorer wrapped in number 18 jersey.
