Aston Villa target Calvin Bassey looks set to make a decision on his Rangers future after he returns from international duty.

What's the word?

That is according to a report from Daily Record who claim that Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is keen on a reunion with the 22-year-old former Leicester City youth prospect, with the player set to decide before returning to Rangers for pre-season.

Amidst Gerrard's desire to coax Bassey out of Ibrox, the report states that the Nigerian is attracting interest from across Europe, after what was an impressive end to the season with a stellar performance in the Europa League final.

As per a report from Birmingham Mail, it is said that a £25m asking price could be enough to dissuade Villa from a deal, with the club weighing up other options for the man who is rated at £900k as per Transfermarkt.

Best business of the window

The signing of Bassey could be Aston Villa's best piece of business of the entire summer window.

He's an astute and versatile defender who has shared duties as a left-back and a centre-back this season, playing the most vital game in the Europa League final as a left centre-back, and doing so extremely well.

Defensively speaking, he is more than sound, hence being dubbed "The Great Wall", offering up numbers that place him in and around the elite category amongst positionally similar players, with his average of 2.45 tackles and 8.11 pressures in the defensive third further evidence of the stability he offers.

Whilst he could turn out to be the long-term successor of Tyrone Mings, he will most certainly provide much-needed competition for Lucas Digne at left-back after the sale of Matt Targett to Newcastle.

His versatility is attractive, but his defensive dominance is what has made him the sought after prospect we see today.

The Villans have landed the signings of Boubacar Kamara, Philippe Coutinho and Diego Carlos but such is the potential of Bassey and his familiarity with Gerrard that this could well be their most shrewd deal yet.

In other news: Lange could land the new James Milner as AVFC plot bid for "athletic" £14.4m-rated gem