Glasgow Rangers defender Calvin Bassey earns less than 18 of his teammates, including Filip Helander, despite developing into one of the Gers’ key players this campaign.
Bassey moved from Leicester City in 2020 as a relative unknown, having yet to make his professional debut. As per Salary Sport, the 21-year-old currently earns £6,400 a week at Ibrox, which is considerably less than Helander. The Sweden international takes home £14,000 every week, despite him spending more time in the treatment room than on the pitch this season.
Here, we take a look at how the two compare during their time with the 55-time Scottish champions.
Bassey v Helander
Helander has proven his worth at times to the Gers, with Steven Gerrard praising him at the start of the current campaign. However, injuries have proven to be a constant thorn in his side. Last season, he spent over three months on the sidelines with a foot injury, while knee surgery has reduced him to just 10 appearances in all competitions this term.
Bassey, meanwhile, continues to go from strength to strength. Originally a left-back, he was always going to find it hard to displace the more experienced Borna Barisic. However, he has transitioned into a competent centre-back and has even taken the Croatian’s place on the left side of the back four in more recent weeks.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst praised Bassey when he first took over from Gerrard as the club’s boss, and he appears to have a massive future ahead of him. With five assists to his name this term alone, he has also shown his creative side.
While Bassey has cost £10,705 per game in wages since his arrival, Helander has set the Bears back more than three times that fee, receiving £33,695 for each of his 59 appearances on top of the £3.5m they spent to acquire his services. Unfortunately, the positive moments he has produced have been heavily outweighed by his injuries.
TIF Verdict…
Ross Wilson and co pulled off a bargain with the capture of Bassey. They paid Leicester a compensation fee of just £230,000, which already looks to have been repaid with the youngster’s performances. Bassey is currently two years into a four-year contract, and you can expect the club’s hierarchy to initiate contract extension talks, which will likely include a pay-rise offer, relatively soon.
Van Bronckhorst even called him ‘amazing’ after his performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League in February.
Should Rangers pay Bassey more?
Yes
No
Helander’s future, however, looks far less certain. Including Bassey, Van Bronckhorst has six centre-backs at his disposal, and all but two have featured more often than the 28-year-old this season. At this point, it seems best for Rangers to cut their losses and move on.