Calvin Bassey returned to the UK when Fulham signed him from Ajax in July 2023.
The defender, who graduated from Leicester City’s academy, spent two years at Rangers and moved to Ajax in 2022. He made 39 appearances in all competitions for the Eredivisie side before leaving them for Fulham.
Bassey has cemented his place under Marco Silva, making 39 appearances since joining Fulham. He has played every minute in the Premier League this season. At the weekend, the London clubs suffered a 3-2 defeat against Manchester City.
Former Feyenoord and Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar analysed the 24-year-old’s growth at Fulham for Viaplay. Soccer News have relayed his quotes, and their title says ‘Calvin Bassey shock after Ajax transfer’.
The Dutch club reportedly invested around £20m to buy the centre-back from Rangers. The outlet says he wasn’t consistent during his time in Amsterdam, but that isn’t the case at Fulham.
Vlaar points out the Nigeria international was criticised for giving away the ball cheaply at Ajax. This is no longer the case at the Premier League side.
“I think Bassey is very important, and I thought he was especially good today. You see him on the ball doing things that we are all not used to from him in the Netherlands,” he said.
If you think back to his time at Ajax… He was very insecure. When he was on the ball, you could feel it in the whole stadium. Then it was very often losing the ball. Here you don’t see that, not at all. It is special that he plays with confidence in the Premier League. That’s nice to see. Ajax didn’t buy him for nothing. It just didn’t come out at all, except for a few moments.”
Despite Fulham’s defeat against Manchester City, Vlaar has heaped praised on Bassey for his performance.
“We didn’t see Haaland at all. Bassey and Joachim Andersen completely neutralised him. That is a very big compliment,” Vlaar explained.
