Aston Villa may have completed four signings before the transfer window has even officially opened but it seems as if Steven Gerrard is still planning for a busy summer of incoming and outgoings, with Calvin Bassey reportedly still of interest to the Villa boss.
What's the word?
According to Birmingham Live reporter Ashley Preece, Bassey remains "on the club's radar" as Gerrard looks to improve the spine of his XI.
The Rangers man is well-known to Gerrard after his time at Ibrox and enjoyed a superb 2021/22 campaign which has attracted interest from plenty of sides across Europe.
Gerrard's dream?
The former Leicester City man started his Rangers career as a left-back, so could provide cover for Lucas Digne, but some of his best showings for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side last season came as a central defender.
Bassey was particularly impressive in the Europa League final defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt, with BBC awarding him their man-of-the-match award, while Owen Hargreaves also sang his praises on BT Sport, saying:
"Calvin Bassey, my word, what a performance.
"That was astonishing, the energy and effort. Everything about his game was fantastic.
"Anyone watching that will be thinking: ‘That’s the kind of player I want in my team'."
Gerrard has already waxed lyrical about Bassey during his time as manager of Rangers and he is someone that he clearly wants to work with at Villa in the Premier League.
Last season saw the young defender make 50 appearances for Rangers in all competitions, in what was a breakthrough campaign for him, considering he had only made 15 appearances in the previous campaign.
Therefore, it seems fair to suggest that he will only get better with more experience and playing time, and it is easy to see why Gerrard wants to bring him to Villa Park this summer.
Considering Villa have already spent big on fellow defender Diego Carlos, it will be interesting to see if they are willing to meet Rangers' reported £25m asking price for Bassey. However, from what Preece suggests, they will definitely try and convince him to make the move south, something that would be a dream for Gerrard.