‘Calvin isn’t going to Rangers for a change of scenery’
Leicester legend Elliott backs defender to make his mark after sealing move to Ibrox
HE won’t be the most high-profile signing that Rangers will make this summer, and at just £230,000 he is sure to be one of the least expensive.
Yet, Calvin Bassey, who the Ibrox club announced on Saturday will join them when his current deal with Leicester City expires, is more than capable of challenging for a first-team place next season according to one shrewd judge who has seen him in action.
Matt Elliott, the former Scotland defender, now works for Leicester TV and has watched the 20-year-old centre-half-cum-left-back play for his old club’s under-23 team on numerous occasions in recent seasons.
Bassey will, with Borna Barisic, George Edmundson, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and Nikola Katic all in Steven Gerrard’s squad already, have his work cut out featuring in the 2020/21 campaign.
But Elliott has been impressed with the Italy-born youngster, who is also eligible to represent both England and Nigeria, and believes he has moved to Scotland in a bid to get a regular game at senior level.
“Calvin’s intention will be to force his way into that first team at Rangers,” he said. “He isn’t going up there for a break or a change of scenery. He will want to make his mark.
“I work for the club’s media channel and do the odd co-commentary on their development squad games. I have seen a fair few of their games this season.
“Calvin is a big, strong, powerful lad who can play at centre-half or left-back. He has certainly got the physical attributes. He is very capable for a boy of his age. He is very athletic, has got great pace. He can get forward from the fullback position.
“First-team football is what he needs. He needs to be tested out defensively at a higher level to develop the awareness you need when you are up against players to make clever runs. I am sure he will make a good case for himself to get a starting place.”
Elliott (right) is something of a legend at Leicester City. He was, along with current Celtic manager Neil Lennon, a key player in the Martin O’Neill team that performed so well in the English top flight in the late 1990s. The uncompromising centrehalf also scored both of the Midland club’s goals in their 2000 League Cup final win at Wembley.
But the London-born footballer, who qualified to play for Scotland through his grandmother, took a circuitous route to the top. He was first spotted playing for non-league Epsom and Ewell by Charlton Athletic. But he then spent spells in the lower divisions with Torquay United, Scunthorpe United and Oxford United before signing for Leicester.
The 51-year-old, who won 18 caps for his adopted homeland between 1997 and 2001 and was in the national squad at France ’98, is confident that Bassey can take less time to establish himself. He believes he has made a wise choice moving to Rangers to further his career.
“It is all part of the process,” he said. “I think you are better off going out on loan or moving club to gain first-team experience sooner rather than later.
“Some players are happy to stay in development football. They can be 21 or 22 and haven’t played a first-team game. But all of the players who have broken through into Leicester’s first team have all been out on loan once, twice, sometimes even three times, to gain that experience.
“In my case, I came from total obscurity, local nonleague football, made a massive jump to Charlton and very quickly realised I wasn’t good enough for that level. Lennie Lawrence, my manager, told me to go away and get experience.
“My loan period outside of the top league lasted about 10 years. I developed very slowly. It took me until I was about 28 to get back up to the top division. Hopefully Calvin will develop a little bit quicker than me.
“There is nothing like playing first-team games. Ask most players what they prefer and they will all tell you they prefer playing first-team matches than in a development game against the Man United Under-23 team.”
Elliott knows that Bassey, who rejected the offer of a new deal at the King Power Stadium and will pen a four-year contract at Ibrox when the summer transfer window opens, has received a solid grounding at Leicester’s renowned academy and won’t be overawed either by the move to Rangers or working under their manager Gerrard.
“Leicester have a very good youth set-up,” he said. “The infrastructure at the club is top notch these days. There is a big emphasis on bringing the kids through. They have been pretty successful in recent years in doing that.
“Steve Beaglehole has been at the club for literally decades and is doing a magnificent job as coach of the development squad aided by his assistant Ben Petty. They have done pretty well in Premier League 2. The reputation Leicester’s academy has for developing young players is pretty high these days. Calvin will
He is very athletic, has got great pace and can get forward