Former Ibrox defender Alan Hutton has given his reaction to the now confirmed exit of Glasgow Rangers ace Calvin Bassey.
The latest: Move imminent
Following days of heightened speciation surrounding the 22-year-old, reputable Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph confirmed that Bassey is leaving leave Giovanni van Bronckhorsts’s squad on a permanent basis.
The Nigeria international has joined Dutch Eredivisie outfit Ajax in a deal that could rise to £22.6million, offering the Gers’ a healthy profit on the £230,000 training compensation fee paid to Leicester City when signing the versatile defender from back in 2020 (Glasgow Live).
However, despite the impressive financial windfall for the Glasgow giants, one invested onlooker has suggested that the transfer will still be detrimental to the UEFA Europa League runners-up..
The latest: ‘Huge…’
Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton, who represented Rangers on 111 occasions and now works for the club’s TV channel, claimed that the six-cap ace’s departure will be a damaging blow to Van Bronckhorst’s plans.
He said: “It’s a huge loss, there’s no getting away from that fact. I think he was just coming into his own last season and we were starting to see the best of him. At only 22 years of age he was only going to get better.
“That being said you know the bigger teams are going to be swooping around him. So to bring in a guy for £230k to then sell him on for add-ons of up to £20m I think it’s great business for the club.
“It’s a shame to see him leave because I think he could’ve been an absolute standout player moving forward but we all knew this was going to happen.”
The verdict: Back the boss
Ultimately, losing Bassey after what was a stellar 2021/22 campaign from the powerful youngster is always going to be a negative, but it’s how Van Bronckhorst can replace the quality and perhaps more importantly, durability that the Italy-born Nigerian star brought to the Teddy Bears ranks.
Last term, the powerful youngster made a mammoth 50 appearances across all competitions, revelling in newfound importance whilst winning 5.2 duels and making 1.2 clearances per game, helping the Light Blues keep 13 Scottish Premiership clean sheets (Sofascore).
Having wasted no time in completing the signing of Ben Davies from Liverpool, the Gers have gone some way to finding an adequate successor when it comes to filling the significant central defensive void left behind by the man described as ‘absolutely sensational’ by talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy.
Linked elsewhere to Besiktas left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, it appears that the Ibrox hierarchy are also looking to use the funds obtained from the Bassey sale to seek a natural full-back to compete and perhaps usurp Borna Barisic.
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