Nigeria legend Taribo West is convinced Calvin Bassey can still become a world-class defender despite his struggles after leaving Rangers for Ajax, speaking to Football Live.
The Eredivisie giants didn’t just lose a number of star players last summer; Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Sebastien Haller heading for the exit. They also lost their talismanic head coach and their esteemed talentspotter too.
If Erik ten Hag and Marc Overmars were still in situ at the Johan Cryuff Arena, Ajax surely would have made a better fist of replacing Antony and co. The 2019 Champions League semi-finalists were famed during the Ten Hag era for selling stars and replacing them with players of equal quality, but that knack appeared to desert Ajax last summer.
Record signing Steven Bergwijn has just one goal in his last 15 games. Lucas Ocampos has already gone, while neither Florian Grillitsch, Sergio Conceicao nor Owen Wijndal have made anything like the impact expected of them.
But Bassey, the £20 million signing from Rangers, has had to face up to more criticism than most.
Rangers sold Calvin Bassey to Eredivisie giants Ajax
“If you pay that money for him, then you are really not feeling well,” Dutch legend Johnny Rep said after one particularly poor performance.
“It is terrible to see him play. In the Eredivisie, there are ten better players than him.”
Not everyone is writing off the one-time Crystal Palace youngster so soon, however. Former Inter and AC Milan ace West believes that Bassey has the ‘quality’ to bounce back, and show an expectant Ajax fanbase exactly why his price-tag rose from £230,000 to £20 million in just two years at Ibrox.
“He should play (attention) to the instruction of his coach. He should invest more dedication, discipline and hard work. I believe he has the quality to be one of the best in Europe, and in his generation,” West argues.
“I’ve seen him play a couple of times for Nigeria. I think he has great quality. With what I have seen in him, he needs a lot of dedication, discipline and hard work. The sky is his limit.”
Bassey shone as a left-back or centre-half for a Rangers side who made a habit of hitting more technical opponents on the counter-attack during their stirring run to the 2022 Europa League final; Bassey’s athleticism making him a massive threat down the flanks.
At Ajax, however, the former Leicester man is having to adapt to a more patient, possession-heavy style.
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