Calvin Bassey has admitted that he was turned down by Crystal Palace before going on to become a Scottish Premiership champion at Rangers, while speaking to Rising Ballers.
Things have turned out rather well for the Italy-born 21-year-old north of the border.
Just 10 months after putting pen to paper with Rangers, Bassey was sipping champagne on the hallowed Ibrox turf, having helped Steven Gerrard’s ‘Invicibles’ seal the Premiership title and bring the curtain crashing down on Celtic’s decade of dominance.
The former Leicester City left-back featured 15 times for the Glasgow giants during his debut season, providing Gerrard with a reliable back-up option whenever first-choice Borna Barisic was unavailable.
With Rangers looking to compete on a number of different fronts next term, you can expect Bassey to play an important role again for a side desperate to retain a trophy they waited so long to get their hands on.
Will Calvin Bassey continue to develop at Rangers?
It could have been oh-so different for Bassey, however, had Crystal Palace returned his calls at a time when the youngster was looking to make a name for himself in the academy game.
“Crystal Palace – I didn’t get a call back from them,” Bassey said, reflecting on a time when his dream of becoming a professional footballer looked to be in doubt.
“A lot of no’s, a lot of no’s.”
Bassey admitted that he was overlooked by Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic too, before rocking up at Leicester instead.
And while Orient and the Addicks will be beginning next season in the fourth and third tiers of English football, Bassey could soon be playing Champions League football in front of a bouncing Ibrox crowd.
“We trust Calvin. We know he’s a rough diamond,” Gerrard said in October.
“We have no hesitation in putting him into games because he’s ready. He’s shown us on a daily basis that he wants to be here, he’s hungry. He wants to push Borna and he’s certainly doing that.”
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