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Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey has been tipped for a move to EPL relegation-battlers Leeds United and Southampton as he continues to struggle at Ajax since he moved there in the summer transfer window, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
According to former Netherlands international, Rene Van der Gijp, Ajax should cut their losses and sell Calvin Bassey for half of his £20 million price-tag to a Premier League club.
Bassey’s £20 million price-tag, meanwhile, continues to hang like a millstone around the former Rangers defender’s neck.
“Bassey is just really funny (to watch),” former Ajax midfielder Kenneth Perez told ESPN, casting serious doubt on whether the Nigeria international has the technical ability to thrive at a club renowned for their dominant possession play.
“He is very poor on the ball. Bambi on ice. It’s almost pathetic, because the opponent naturally lets him free (to give the ball away),” Perez said.
Two-time Eredivisie champion Van der Gijp, meanwhile, believes Ajax should already be looking to cut their losses and sell the defender.
“If I were Ajax, I would call Southampton and Leeds United and say; ‘You can have him for €12.5m,” Van der Gijp tells Veronica Inside.
“Where did it go wrong (at Ajax)? How dissatisfied will they be there. Two years ago, everyone thought they were going to become the Bayern Munich of the Netherlands. Totally untouchable.
“So you see what a little mismanagement can do in a year. (It can) mess up your whole club,” he said.
Bassey shone in a more counter-attacking approach during the 2021/22 season at Rangers; thriving as a left-back and as a left-sided centre-half as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side knocked out RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund on route to the final.
According to Bassey’s representatives, Arsenal, West Ham United and Aston Villa came calling for the one-time Leicester City prospect before his big-money move to the Dutch capital.