Calvin Bassey: Rangers defender's journey from fringe player to Europa League 'colossus'
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Calvin Bassey was a standout for Rangers despite defeat in last season's Europa League final
In the summer of 2020, Calvin Bassey was in Leicester City's reserves. Less than a year later, doubt was cast over his Rangers future after the 22-year-old was suspended for breaking lockdown rules.
The versatile defender was previously viewed by some as a weak link in the Ibrox side after joining for an unheralded compensation fee. Now he has been sold to Ajax in a deal that could rise to nearly £23m.
The Nigeria international was described as a "colossus" in May's heart-wrenching Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. Three days later, he dazzled again in another 120-minute final as Rangers claimed the Scottish Cup.
With Bassey now looking forward to life in Amsterdam, BBC Scotland looks at how the defender has gone from the Ibrox fringes to shattering the club's record sale.
Eye-opening numbers
As he was throughout Rangers' remarkable run to the Europa League final, Bassey was excellent against Eintracht in Seville - a performance which surely put potential suitors on high alert.
He won seven of his 11 duels on the night, four of his five aerially, won possession back nine times, and made three interceptions.
Twice in extra time, with team-mates and opposition players going down with cramp, he made incredible recovery runs to ensure the final went the distance, highlighting his athleticism.
"Anyone watching that will be thinking 'that's the kind of player I want in my team'," former Manchester United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves said on the night, talking in his role as a pundit on BT Sport.
Rangers legend Ally McCoist, on the same panel, hailed Bassey as a "colossus".
After a painful penalty shootout defeat, much was made of the mental and physical condition of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's players as they walked out at Hampden against Hearts just a matter of days later.
But again Bassey was a standout as Rangers made sure they finished the season with silverware in another gruelling 120-minute test.
From stumbling start to star man
Bassey was not an instant hit at Ibrox. He started as Steven Gerrard rotated his XI for a League Cup quarter-final against St Mirren in December 2020, and failed to impress before being substituted early in a shock 3-2 defeat.
Four months later, he was part of a group that received a six-game ban for breaching lockdown rules by attending a party and looked out of the picture altogether.
He made just eight league outings - three of them starts - as Rangers won the title - with Borna Barisic the first-choice left-back, but Bassey assumed the role in the early months of last term as the Croat struggled for form and fitness.
After the departure of Gerrard and arrival of Van Bronckhorst, Bassey found himself moved into the hearts of defence and made the position his own. He kept Filip Helander out of the team when the Swede briefly returned from injury and left Leon Balogun, who has now departed, stuck on the bench.
"Bassey has come so far, so quickly," former Ibrox striker Mark Hateley said, speaking on the night of the Europa League final. "He's established himself as a centre-half, wing-back and full-back.
"He's put himself in a place right now where I imagine there are a lot of clubs looking at him. He has been outstanding."
Lots of clubs were looking and Dutch giants Ajax have splashed out their second biggest fee ever (behind Steven Bergwijn and just above Sebastien Haller).
The move could double Rangers' previous highest sale, which was the £11.5m received from Everton for Nathan Patterson in January.
A very tidy investment on a raw recruit, who developed into a mainstay over the course 65 first team appearances.
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