A claim has emerged on Glasgow Rangers gem Calvin Bassey and interest in his services heading into the summer transfer window at Ibrox...
What's the talk?
Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that a team south of the border may have an edge in their pursuit of the Rangers central defender.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think at this stage, Aston Villa seem to be in a good position to negotiate. We’ve already seen Steven Gerrard have a big impact on signings they’ve already got through the door.
“People are speaking very well about him as a person and a manager and Calvin Bassey will be more than aware of what he could bring to his game further so definitely the Gerrard effect could work.”
Gio van Bronckhorst will be sweating
This claim will surely leave the Light Blues head coach sweating as the prospect of losing Bassey is a worrying one for him.
Gerrard has a pre-existing relationship with the Nigeria international - having signed him for the Gers from Leicester - and van Bronckhorst will be concerned that Premier League football and the chance to reunite with his former boss will be enough to convince him to want a move.
Going into the 2022/23 campaign without Bassey in the squad would be a huge blow to the Gers and leave the Dutch boss fuming as he has proven his quality in a Rangers shirt.
He burst onto the scene last season and made himself a regular in the side under Gerrard and van Bronckhorst, excelling in the Premiership...
These statistics show that he was heavily involved at the back as he consistently won his individual duels and won the ball back for his team on a regular basis.
The gem was also important in the Europa League as he played 14 times in the competition. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.90 as he made 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game and won 60% of his duels, playing at centre-back and left-back.
This shows that the defender delivered game-in-game-out in Europe and was physically dominant against opposition attackers - playing a key role in the run to the final.
Losing him would, therefore, be a huge blow for Rangers as he has proven that he can perform to a high level domestically and in Europe. Van Bronckhorst would be handed the difficult task of replacing him and that is why he will now be sweating at the thought of Villa snapping him up this summer.