Former Rangers boss Giovani van Bronckhorst has defended Fulham’s Calvin Bassey, insisting his spell at Ajax should not overshadow the player he was at Ibrox.
The Dutch coach has been speaking to RTL7 in the Netherlands, relayed by Soccer News, regarding the defender after his move to Fulham earlier this summer.
Bassey joined Marco Silva’s side in a €22.5m move at the end of last month, bringing an end to a disastrous solitary year with Ajax.
He had joined the Dutch giants from Rangers in a €23m move in July 2022 following two successful years at Ibrox where he had starred under Steven Gerrard and Van Bronckhorst.
Indeed, he racked up 65 appearances for the club under both managers, establishing himself as a key player in both manager’s systems.
Ajax were convinced and stumped up the cash to get him out of Ibrox, eyeing him as the long-term replacement for Lisandro Martinez following his move to Manchester United.
However, Bassey could not establish himself at the club as he had done with Rangers and a series of high-profile mistakes and poor performances meant they were more than happy to sell to Fulham this summer.
Van Bronckhorst isn’t convinced that was the right choice, though, and believes the defender suffered from a poor year all round at the Amsterdam ArenaA.
“Of course, he has not had a good year,” he said.
“Bassey immediately became a starter for me when I joined Rangers in November. His defensive qualities were simply amazing. He is fast and physically strong.
“He really played in his strength with me, which made him the player who was then sold to Ajax. I was not happy that he left, but I understood.
“Of course, he is a young player who can improve himself, but I think Ajax in general has had a very difficult year. He has not always been able to play in his strength at Ajax.”
