Calvin Bassey Now One of Europe’s Most Coveted

Global soccer

After an impressive season for Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish Cup, the Premiership and the Europa League where he made the Team of the Season, Calvin Bassey is now one of the most sought-after players in Europe

If reports emanating from London Daily Record is anything to go by, Super Eagles defender, Calvin Bassey will be plying his football trade in the Premier League next season as interest is growing in one of Nigeria’s outstanding performers in Europe this season, with the Brentford and the Wolves the latest clubs linked to a move.

English Premier League clubs, Wolves, Brentford, and newly promoted side, Fulham have shown interest in signing the Super Eagles defender.

Bassey has been building a solid profile over the past five months after impressing for Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish Cup, the Premiership, and the Europa League.

The 22-year-old shot himself to the top of every major club’s shopping list after a great week that saw him excel in the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals.

Rangers lost to German foes, Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, but Bassey was outstanding at centre-back and he subsequently made the competition’s Team of the Season.

A few days later, the versatile Super Eagles defender claimed the Man-of-the-Match award playing at left full-back as the Light Blues defeated Hearts at Hampden to lift the Scottish Cup.

Several clubs have been alerted by the youngster’s excellent showings, with Chelsea and Bayern Munich already mentioned with interest. Steven Gerrard, who took Bassey to Rangers from the Leicester City reserve team, is also reportedly keen on reuniting with the Nigerian at Aston Villa.

It is increasingly looking like it will take a club-record sale from Rangers to prise Bassey away from Ibrox.

Bassey was a couple of months short of his 18th birthday when he first got the chance to sample Ibrox Stadium and the young Leicester City kid left his mark in more ways than one in that 6-1 rout against the Rangers development squad.

Former Ibrox striker Ryan Hardie felt the full force of his physicality as he was “barged off his feet and the ball”, inside the box by Bassey.

However, it was Bassey’s ability to recover that left Hardie in awe as he stood in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to watch his old club last week in the Europa League final.

Bassey recovered from a slip to make a last-ditch recovery tackle to deny Eintracht Frankfurt’s Rafael Borre.

Hardie was amazed at the 22-year-old’s desire as he kept going to the bitter end despite the stifling Seville heat.

Also, in the stadium that night was another player- Conor Tee, who featured in that game five years ago and upstaged his good friend and team-mate.

And he beamed with pride after travelling to Seville to join the tens of thousands of Rangers fans to watch his old roommate on one of the biggest stages of all.

Tee recalled that game in September 2017 but believes a return match a couple of years later was the one that really convinced the Ibrox side, by then managed by Gerrard, to make a move. But Bassey did enough to impress with ‘B’ team boss David McCallum an instant admirer and the wheels were set in motion for the eventual transfer a short time later.

Bassey was picked up for around £300,000 as they took advantage of the cross-border compensation rule and that is proving a bargain with every man of the match display with some claiming he’s now in the £25 million bracket.

Tee told Record Sport: “I went to watch Calvin in Seville and I was buzzing for him because he’s my best mate.

“It was surreal watching him in Seville on that big stage. It was a proud feeling for us and his family watching.

“I returned to Glasgow and spent some time with him there. There’s no question he’s good enough for the English Premier League but it’s about getting the move that suits him.

“He’ll know what’s best for him and his career. There’s no rush, Rangers is a huge club and he’s just 22 and played in a European final.

“When I was in Seville a few people asked me how I got tickets and when I told them my mate was Calvin Bassey they said, ‘Oh my God!’.

“I told him the feelings the fans have for him but he’s not big headed. He’s just the same Calvin. “He’s not shy to be fair, he’s a bubbly guy but such a great guy and down to earth and he deserves everything he achieves.

“I moved to South Shields a season after he moved to Rangers and he’s planning on coming to watch me as well but our games always clashed.

“I didn’t even get the chance to see him until the Europa League final but I caught up with him a few times in Glasgow on non-matchdays.

“I joined Leicester City at Under-12s and he joined at Under-16 level and we became good friends. “We lived with each other in digs when we both got a scholarship and we’ve been mates ever since.

“I can still remember his first training session and he was good but I would say he improved rapidly.

“He started playing much later than everyone else but he progressed really quickly. It’s a bit like at Rangers if you think back to when he first came in.

“When he left to join Rangers, I was still at Leicester City and I was sad to see him go on a personal level but, professionally, I knew it was a positive step in his career and I knew it was something he had to do to get first team football and it’s paid off big style.

“I’m not surprised at all at his success. I always knew how good he was and having played with him at a young age it’s good to see how he’s progressed over the years.

“He had all the attributes to be a top player and he’s shown that. I always felt left back was his strongest position because he’s so good at attacking.

“But at the same time, he’s solid defensively and from what I’ve seen of him at centre half this season as well he can do that as well but left back is where I think he’s most effective.”

Hardie felt the full force of Bassey back in 2018 and the 25-year-old, now at Plymouth, loved watching him in Seville.

 “It’s crazy to think I was on the end of that challenge five years ago and to see how far Calvin has come.

“I was actually over in Seville and he was unbelievable. The thing that stood out for me was when he tripped over and gave the ball away and then recovered with one of the best last-ditch tackles I’ve ever seen.

“He’s so physical but he does it for the duration of the game. In the Scottish Cup Final, he was chasing the ball in 120th minute. It was crazy.”