Rangers former director weighs in on possible exit of star defender Calvin Bassey
Former director Paul Murray believes that star defender Calvin Bassey’s potential exit will help Rangers in reducing the gap with rivals Celtic.
The Nigeria international has been heavily linked with a £25million+ move away from the Ibrox Stadium in the summer transfer window with Premier League side Aston Villa in the race [Daily Mail].
Murray was quoted in a report by Daily Record where he suggest that if the star defender will leave and join Villa, it will help the Rangers in using those funds in strengthening the squad overall.
“Recruitment in football now is absolutely critical and if we get the recruitment right in the summer, we have every chance of winning the league next year,” he said.
“I would be pretty confident. I think we should be looking at trading in some players and freshening up the squad.
“Any team needs to be freshened up and whether that is Calvin Bassey or anyone else, every player has a price.
“Bassey has been immense in terms of his end to his season, his whole season. It depends on how the manager sees the team and the shape of the team.”
Blessing in disguise
Bassey’s potential departure from the Ibrox Stadium might prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Rangers.
Reports suggest the Villa are ready to meet the Scottish club’s valuation of £25 million for the 22-year-old as their manager Steve Gerrard is keen to work with the player once again whom he signed during his days with the Gers.
If the deal will go through, it would be quite a business considering that Bassey joined on a free transfer in the summer of 2020 from the Leicester City U23 side.
Since then, Bassey has been influential for his current club whom he represented 64 times across all competitions, scoring a solitary goal.
In the previous campaign, Bassey was one of the standout performers for Rangers where he played in 49 matches across all competitions, providing six assists in the process.
He was undoubtedly the Rangers’ best player in the final of the Europa League where they suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt.
In other Rangers news, Rangers are not pursuing signing of Vladan Kovacevic this summer