It’s fair to say that despite options such as Connor Goldson, Ben Davies and Leon King, Rangers manager Michael Beale probably wishes they never sold Calvin Bassey in the summer.
The defender was making great strides at Ibrox, starring in Rangers’ run to the Europa League final with a series of impressive performances that very much put him on the radar.
That was why Ajax came calling in the summer window, moving quickly to secure the centre-back, paying Rangers €23m as a replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who had moved to Manchester United.
The hope was that they could develop the Rangers youngster like they have with many down the years, turning him into a star and potentially selling him on for a big fee down the line.
That has not proven to be the case so far, with the defender struggling to establish himself and replicate the performances he showed at Ibrox during his two years there.
It’s been a tough year for the former Rangers star that doesn’t look like easing up any time soon, at least according to former Dutch football Keje Molenaar.
“Only I notice that at Ajax he is under enormous pressure. You can see that in his whole body, which is completely stiff with stress,” Soccer News report him saying on the Kale & Kokkie podcast.
“He can’t even do a normal sprint because his body moves lumbering, whereas he didn’t have that last year (at Rangers). If I were to pick him, I would put him at centre-left and no longer at the side.
“You have to give him time. We think a player in a new environment can immediately perform the same as he did with his previous employer.
“It doesn’t work that way. You have to give people time to acclimatise.”
