The Premier League could come calling for one of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s regular starters and it’s safe to say, it might not be who you think.
If I said it’s our left-back, despite his form, your mind would probably wander to Borna Barisic, however, a recent report has claimed that West Ham United are keeping tabs on Calvin Bassey.
The 22-year old has played a lot of his football at centre-half this season and, according to Football Insider, the Hammers are set to return for a player they missed out on in 2020:
“A West Ham source has told Football Insider that Bassey is on their radar ahead of the summer as they look to recruit a left-footed defender.
“Intriguingly, West Ham had a bid for Bassey rejected in early 2020 as he ran down his Leicester deal.
“The powerhouse defender opted to instead take advantage of cross-border rules and sign for Rangers on a four-year contract.”
After seeing his last few games, I’d be surprised if they are still considering a move, Bassey has made a few mistakes that were costly as well as some that he has gotten away with, definitely not at his best defensively – going forwards he has still been effective but a Rangers full-back needs to do both sides of the job.
Bassey arrived having never played a single minute of competitive senior football so he was always going to be raw, don’t let his physique fool you into thinking he is mature for his age, in reality, Stephen Kelly has played more games outside of the safety of the academy.
Players like Bassey are perfect for our transfer model, pick them up cheap with loads of potential and room to develop whilst still being able to contribute to the first-team – we’ve already seen with Nathan Patterson what clubs in England are willing to pay for our best young players and there’s no reason why the former Leicester City youngster shouldn’t attract a decent fee too, if the reports are accurate.