Rangers defender Calvin Bassey could leave Ibrox behind this summer with Giovanni van Bronckhorst facing a battle to keep him in Glasgow.
What's the news?
That's according to a recent report from The Times, who suggest that van Bronckhorst could lose one of Rangers' star men this season.
It's said that Aston Villa are ready to step up their pursuit of the Gers defender in the coming weeks as he reportedly fits the bill for the defensive reinforcement that Steven Gerrard wants in his side.
The report also adds that Villa scouts were impressed by Bassey’s performance at Hampden during Rangers' Scottish Cup victory over Hearts and that Gerrard is keen to reunite with the player after bringing him to Glasgow two years ago.
Disaster for Van Bronckhorst
As mentioned in the report, Rangers secured a deal for the Nigerian back in 2020 from Leicester City.
After securing the former Leicester youngster, Gerrard had this to say about him.
"He's a strong and dynamic athlete who is very much the modern-day full-back. He's left-footed, physically powerful and enjoys driving forward and is certainly equipped to thrive in the combative nature of Scottish football."
During his time with the Ibrox side, Bassey has gone on to make 64 appearances for the Europa League finalists across all competitions, chipping in with one goal and six assists along the way.
With 49 appearances under his belt this season, the 22-year-old has been deployed in the left-back and centre-back positions, highlighting his versatility and usefulness to van Bronckhorst.
In addition to making 20 interceptions and 28 tackles in the SPFL this season, the Nigerian also racked up the third-highest number of crosses in Rangers' squad with 92 completed.
Praised by Owen Hargreaves for his "astonishing" performance in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt, this shows just how much the defender can step up on the big stage when it matters for his current side. It also shows why letting him go at this stage of his career would be a disaster.
He is the future of Rangers and is demonstrating outstanding qualities. Combine that with how Rangers have a number of older defenders in their squad like Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, Filip Helander and Connor Goldson, it only furthers the blow of potentially losing a younger talent this summer.
Evidently, if the club were to see Bassey leave Ibrox in the coming weeks, it would surely be a disaster for the club and the backroom staff.