Aston Villa could be priced out of a move for Rangers’ Calvin Bassey amid increased transfer interest in the 22-year-old.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Ryan Taylor, who took to Twitter on Saturday morning to update Villa supporters on Bassey’s future.

The Daily Express reporter outlined: “Rangers keen to encourage an auction for Calvin Bassey. Ajax, who view Nigerian as Lisandro Martínez replacement, currently highest bidders. Brighton have also made an offer. Asking price: £25m but with race hotting up, any sale could surpass that figure.”

Villa had shown interest in the Nigeria international during May and this recent development will be a blow to Steven Gerrard, who brought him to Ibrox in 2020.

Supporters will be gutted

Bassey impressed last season for Rangers, and he showcased his talents on one of the biggest stages with a fine performance in the Europa League final, which Owen Hargreaves dubbed "astonishing" on BT Sport.

This has made things significantly harder for Gerrard, who would surely have loved a reunion with the enforcer at Villa Park.

The versatile defender, who often operated at left centre-back in a back three, or at left-back, was almost ever-present for Rangers both in the league and in their remarkable European run. He featured 29 times in the Premiership and a further 15 times in the Europa League journey.

His league performances in particular were of a high standard, with a 6.97 average SofaScore rating. He was a stalwart for the Light Blues and combined his incredible speed with a tendency to be in the right place at the right time.

Still just 22 years old, his future is looking increasingly bright. Even back during his Leicester days, the Foxes' under-23s coach Steve Beaglehole claimed that the Nigerian was “outstanding”.

Bassey's underlying figures only serve to support this statement. He shows his willingness to defend on the front foot as he sits in the 94th percentile for pressures and the 99th percentile for blocks per 90 among positional peers in Europe's major leagues and continental tournaments.

Not just a capable defender, he also ranked in the 95th percentile for assists per 90, and the 99th percentile for dribbles completed. He can seemingly do it all, and it would represent a huge blow for Villa to lose out on this high-quality player.

Supporters too will be gutted to see this transfer target slip away. Everyone finally saw his qualities come to the fore in Rangers’ European adventure, and it appears that this showcase of talent has now put him beyond Gerrard’s reach.

AND in other news: Gerrard can finally axe “frustrating” Villa dud by signing "unplayable" £40m target.