West Ham United dodged bullet by not entering bidding war with Ajax for then Rangers defender Calvin Bassey
The West Ham and Arsenal recruitment teams will certainly be over the moon after they did not sign Calvin Bassey from Rangers this summer.
Speaking to Own Goal Nigeria, a representative of Bassey’s agency name-dropped the Hammers along with Aston Villa as being among the clubs keen on signing the 23-year-old.
Eventually, he ended up moving to Ajax and things haven’t quite started well for him in Amsterdam despite the club leading the Eredivisie.
A representative from the agency said, “Arsenal contacted us and we made it known to Rangers but they didn’t follow up on the discussion. We also had interest from Aston Villa and West Ham but at the end, Ajax had the best offer not in terms of money, but for his development, as they promised me regular game time.”
Bassey was on the wrong side of a 6-1 result recently and came under plenty of criticism for that.
Even before the game, he’s not looked overly confident as a centre-back as he was signed to replace Lisandro Martinez who moved to Manchester United.
Marco van Basten said of the 22-year-old, “Let’s be honest here, 6-1 was a massacre. To be outclassed like that by Napoli is unacceptable. Yes, they are a good team, but even so.
“Look at their transfer business and the amount of money Ajax have received. They’ve spent 100 million Euros, but on what?
“The only players who are actually playing are Calvin Bassey and Steven Bergwijn. The transfers have been strange and crazy. There’s something not right there.”
Marciano Vink joined in the criticism as he said, “Calvin Bassey’s predecessor, Lisandro Martínez, was great at passing and reading the game.
“From the first moment I watched Bassey on his debut against Almere City, I was shocked at how bad his passing was.
“I think he is typical of the scouting and purchasing from the club. When he gets the ball, there is no danger to an opponent. He has to improve quickly.”
West Ham ended up signing Nayef Aguerd, Thilo Kehrer and Emerson and it’s fair to say that David Moyes is content with his signings.