Rangers FC defender Calvin Bassey has been backed to make a big impression at Ajax should he complete a move to the Dutch giants.
Bassey was one of the stars of Rangers’ run to the Europa League final last year, with a series of impressive performances in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s defence.
The Ibrox star had been tipped to make a big move this summer, and it is Ajax who have made the move to sign him in recent weeks.
They’re on the hunt for a replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who is set to reunite with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
That’ll leave a hole in Ajax’s defence, and they’re keen to fill it with Bassey, reaching an agreement with Rangers for his transfer earlier this week.
The move will be a big step up for the defender, but journalist Cristian Willaert is backing him to be a success at the Amsterdam ArenA.
“There (the Europa League final), he made a big mistake at the beginning of the match, which he also recovered from. Other than that, he was one of the standouts that match; he had 21 ball conquests,” he told Voetbalpraat, relayed by FC Update.
“The funny thing is that he is seen by everyone as a left central defender, but he was trained at Leicester as a left-back. In the Premier League U23, he has always played as a left-back and at the start at Rangers too.
“When he (Van Bronckorst) started playing a lot of games with three men at the back, he made him a linchpin central defender.
“In many matches at the end of the season, in a system with four defenders, he also played left central. So that means he can do both.
“He has speed, a good cross, and his passing is good. But he is also very strong in the duels; those numbers are also very good. Martínez is gone now, and he is, of course, not as big, but he was unyielding in the duels.
“Timber and Blind were more the footballers, so this fits. He is good at football, but not as good as, for example, Blind and Martínez.
“He is someone who complements Timber and maybe brings what Timber has a little less: heading power, length and physicality.”
