Left-back Calvin Bassey was arguably Rangers’ best player during the 2021-22 season. Born in Aosta Italy, Bassey traces his roots back to Nigeria, the home of his family. In just two short seasons at Rangers, Bassey went from being a Leicester City reject into being one of the most sought-after players in Europe.
A strong Scottish Premiership campaign was accompanied by helping Rangers reach the Europa League Final. All the while, Bassey was an ever-present force in Rangers’ defence. Now, Bassey has joined reigning Eredivisie champions, Ajax, and will help to solidify the Dutch masters’ back four.
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Ajax paid just over £20 million for Bassey, making him the highest transfer sale of all time for Rangers. After securing Bassey’s transfer from rangers, Ajax signed the defender to a five-year contract. Bassey reportedly earned £6,400 per week at Rangers. He should have a nice increase in salary playing for Ajax.
New Ajax head coach Alfred Schreuder will slot Bassey right into the starting XI at the left-back position, although the defender can play centre-back if needed. The Dutch team sold left-back Nicolas Tagliafico to Lyon for £4.2m this summer. Centre-back Lisandro Martinez joined Tagliafico on the outgoing list, joining Manchester United for more than £57m.
Selling both players resulted in Ajax needing a left-footed defender capable of playing either left-back or centre-back. While the fee for Bassey was high, the amount of money Martinez’s sale alone covers much of the transfer incoming costs this summer at Ajax.
Ajax are a new-look team with four first-team players departing in the offseason. Over £100m has been brought in by the Dutch champions allowing them to overhaul the team for first-year coach Schreuder.
Last season was Bassey’s breakout campaign. He played in 50 games in all competitions assisting six goals. Just eight yellow cards were recorded by the Nigerian. Bassey split equal time between left-back and centre-back at Ibrox. He appeared in 24 games at Left-back and 23 matches at centre-back.
In March 2022, Bassey made his debut for the Nigerian national team. His debut came against Ghana in World Cup the qualification playoffs. Bassey played 16 minutes of the first leg which ended nil-nil. The defender started the second match playing 88 minutes as Nigeria crashed out of qualifying following a 1-1 draw – away goals rule saw Ghana go through.
Since the playoffs in Africa, Bassey has been ever-present in the Nigerian national team. He played all 90 minutes in international friendly losses to Mexico and Ecuador before being a part of a Nigeria team that defeated Sierria Leone and Sao Tome and Principe in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.
Now at Ajax, Bassey will be on a larger stage than in Scotland with Rangers. The former Leicester City academy player will compete in the Champions League while trying to help Ajax retain their Eredivisie title once more.
