Rangers news: Ex-Ibrox boss reveals three attributes that could land Calvin Bassey a move to Premier League big guns
Rangers defender Calvin Bassey could develop into a Premier League star should he join West Ham, according to Alex McLeish.
The former Gers boss, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 22-year-old has the “power, speed and mindset” to thrive in England’s top flight.
As revealed by Football Insider on Monday (10 February), West Ham are keeping tabs on Bassey ahead of a potential summer raid.
The Irons actually failed with a bid for the versatile defender in early 2020 when he was running down his contract at Leicester City.
Able to play both left-back and centre-half, Bassey joined Rangers for £300,000 that summer as the Gers took advantage of cross-border rules.
McLeish insisted the Ibrox star could flourish in England if he can eliminate mistakes from his game.
McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “He’s not played every single game for Rangers. Sometimes you see some moments.
“In the Hearts game he had a dodgy passback to McGregor, the Hearts player intercepted and he should have scored. Those moments go against you.
“But he is a young man. What he does have for the Premier League is power. We’ve seen it so many times before where you think: ‘He’ll never do it in the Premier League,’ and then it goes to Premier League and he does it.
“People think: ‘Hang on a minute, we thought Scottish football was below that level. Then all of a sudden you see a guy going down there and plundering it.
“I think there’s still more to come from him. Getting a regular game for Rangers would help, as long as he eliminates the mistakes,
“He is good going forward but his first job is defending. You have to not give the opposition one sniff of a chance.
“If he gets that right, he’s definitely got the power, the speed and probably the mindset to play in England. English teams do like tall, strong players.”
Bassey has played 44 times for Rangers since his move to Glasgow.
He has been a mainstay under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, playing primarily at centre-back.
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