20-year-old Calvin Bassey has signed a four year deal with the Rangers and will be arriving from Leicester City when the transfer window opens in the summer. Calvin Bassey is a highly rated and promising young player who can play as a left-back as well as a centre-back.
With Bassey joining Rangers, it will be interesting to see where the full-back fits in Steven Gerrard’s plans and what the Italian-born defender brings to the table. Moreover, how the talented 20-year-old full-back can contribute to Rangers’ Scottish Premiership title hopes is yet to be fully seen, but Calvin Bassey does appear to be held in high regard within Rangers.
? #RangersFC are delighted to announce the pre-contract signing of Calvin Bassey from @LCFC.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 6, 2020
On the Rangers official club website, a news report on the signing of Calvin Bassey had many good things to say about the promising young footballer. Speaking about his new signing, club manager Steven Gerrard stated:
“There was a lot of clubs interested in Calvin and for us, it’s pleasing to secure the services of another young talent”
“He’s a strong and dynamic athlete who is very much the modern day full back. He will develop further and we are excited to have made another strong addition to our group.”
The article also mentioned what Gers Sporting Director Ross Wilson had to say about the Leicester City defender. He described why the club had an eye on Bassey since last year:
”The scouting staff identified him at the end of last year and Steven and I have been tracking his situation extensively since then. His ability to play as a full back and centre back will provide us with new depth defensively and doing that was one of our primary targets for this summer.”
Everyone inside the club seems convinced of his quality and are confident of how he can do good to the club. His versatility of playing both as a full-back and centre-back will be the key to fulfilling his potential at Ibrox. Moreover, his signing will add substantial defensive depth to the Rangers squad and his physical attributes and traits will certainly contribute to their Europa League campaigns in the manner Gerrard has envisioned in his plans.
What remains to be seen is how he adjusts to the League and the playing style at Scotland, something that his robust playing style and athletic nature should help with. Former Foxes academy player Ethan Hodby, who played with Bassey at academy level added to this point by speaking about his technical attributes and what Rangers where getting in him.
“They’ve got a gem on their hands in Calvin,” he said. “I think if he had stayed at Leicester, he had the ability to break into the first-team.
“But for him, you have to move to Rangers because they are a massive club. The prospect of playing first-team football is vital and he has more of a chance doing this in Scotland than in England.
“He is very athletic, skilful and naturally fit. He contains amazing technical ability, the sort you don’t really see from young full-backs.”
“His ability to venture forward and trackback to make well-timed challenges is everything you want of your left-back.
“You don’t get many tall full-backs anymore. Bassey is one of the lucky ones”
Meanwhile, his former teammates including Manchester United target James Maddison and Andy King were quick to wish him luck for his decision to make the switch from the Midlands across the border to Scotland. Apart from Bassey, Genk midfielder Ianis Hagi will be joining the Gers permanently alongside Northen Irish starlet Charlie Lindsay.
However, life will not be that easy and straightforward for Calvin Bassey at the Ibrox as he will have to fight for his place in the starting eleven. On Rangers’ part, it does seem that the Gers have made a smart signing in the 20-year-old.