Pundit Brian Laudrup has claimed that Calvin Bassey is one of the main reasons why Rangers are heading to a European final this season.
Bassey came through the Leicester City academy and signed for Rangers in 2020, but last season he played a more sporadic role for the Gers, as he featured just seven times in the Scottish Premiership, compared to this season where he has made 48 appearances in all competitions.
The 22-year-old defender has been a major part of Rangers’ Europa League success this season, he has made 13 appearances in the competition.
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With the role that Bassey has had in the Rangers side this season, he has been heavily praised by Brian Laudrup whilst writing for the Scottish Daily Mail, via Ibrox News.
“The development in the young defender has been astonishing this season. Actually, not this whole season. Just over the six months since Van Bronckhorst picked him to solve a centre-back shortage for his first game in charge against Sparta Prague last November,”
“That show of faith has been rewarded a hundred times over. Bassey is one of several big reasons why tens of thousands of Rangers fans are getting ready to head to Seville next week.
“He hasn’t just grabbed his chance to become a first-team regular. The 22-year-old has squeezed every bit of potential out of it to show himself as one of the best young defenders in the Europa League. Without question, he is the most improved player at Ibrox.
“It’s going to be difficult for Rangers to keep Bassey in the longer term. That’s just modern football business.
“But if they can retain him this summer, and he keeps improving the way he has, then can you imagine where he might be in his development in another year’s time? It’s an exciting prospect,” Laudrup said.
TIF Thoughts on Laudrup’s comments…
Bassey has been impressive for Rangers this season, in the SPL, he has the third-highest amount of accurate passes on average per game (52.3) and he has an average of 1.5 tackles per game, which is the joint fifth-highest in the squad, as per SofaScore.
The 22-year-old’s contract is not set to expire until 2024, but it is apparent Laudrup has his concerns over his long-term future, so Giovanni van Bronckhorst might attempt to tie him down to a new long-term deal.