Rangers’ Calvin Bassey is the man of the moment and has now been backed to become the next Virgil van DIjk emerging out of Scotland.
Bassey joined Rangers for just £230,000 in 2020 and his move from Leicester City was met with little fanfare.
The defender’s first season was largely spent as backup to Borna Barisic at left back.
Yet Bassey has really developed this season and has made huge strides since the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Van Bronckhorst has been playing Bassey as a left-sided centre back rather than as a left back, though isn’t scared to use him there either.
Rangers’ Calvin Bassey is the man of the moment
Bassey really caught they eye against Eintracht Frankfurt last week and was arguably the best player on the pitch in that Europa League final.
The 22-year-old was branded a ‘superstar’ by pundit Don Hutchinson and there is now a real buzz surrounding Bassey.
The problem for Rangers is that Bassey is naturally attracting major interest from other clubs.
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is allegedly keen on Bassey and was in charge of Rangers when the defender arrived at Ibrox.
Rangers may not want to sell to Gerrard after his decision to leave for Villa, but there will be other clubs keen on Bassey anyway.
There has now been even more praise for Bassey, this time from former Scotland and Hearts defender Christophe Berra.
Speaking to Sportsound, as quoted by The Scottish Sun, Berra indicated that Bassey is a ‘man mountain’.
Berra even feels that Bassey could emerge as Scotland’s new Virgil van Dijk some seven years since the Liverpool star left Celtic.
Berra believes Bassey has absolutely everything as a central defender or even as a full back, seemingly backing him for absolute stardom.
“He’s a man mountain. No-one gets past him,” said Berra. “I know this is holding him in high regard but he could be the next Van Dijk type figure to come out of Scotland.”
“He’s got that potential, physically, he’s aggressive, he’s technically good on the ball. He’s powerful, he can dribble, and he’s got that flexibility where he can play left-back or centre-back,” he added.
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