Calvin Chinedu Bassey[1] MON (né Ughelumba, born 31 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Premier League club Fulham. Born in Italy, he plays for the Nigeria national team.
 Bassey with Ajax in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Calvin Chinedu Bassey[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Calvin Chinedu Ughelumba[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 31 December 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Aosta, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back, centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Fulham | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| CM Futsal Academy | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2020 | Leicester City | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Rangers | 37 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Ajax | 25 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Fulham | 46 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Nigeria | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:40, 26 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:42, 14 November 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Bassey was a product of Leicester City's youth system but did not make a senior appearance for the club before joining Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020. He made 65 appearances over two seasons for Rangers and won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup. In July 2022, he signed for Dutch club Ajax, with Rangers receiving the highest transfer fee in their history. The following July, he signed for English club Fulham.
Club career
editLeicester City
editBassey joined Leicester City at the age of 15 after a successful trial[3] and progressed through the club's youth ranks, with regular appearances for the clubs' under-18 and under-23 sides.
Rangers
editOn 6 June 2020, Bassey signed a pre-contract with Rangers,[4] officially joining the club with the opening of the summer transfer window in July.[1] On 9 August 2020, he made his professional debut for Rangers in a Scottish Premiership match versus St Mirren as a substitute in a 3–0 win.[5]
He scored his first and only goal for the club in a 4-0 win against Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup.
Bassey was a key figure for Rangers during their run to the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final, which they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.[6]
Ajax
editIn July 2022, it was confirmed by Rangers that Bassey had been sold to Ajax for a club record fee of around £20 million.[7][8][9] On his debut for the club in the 2022 Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Super Cup) on 31 July 2022, he received a direct red card 15 minutes after coming on as a substitute.[10]
Fulham
editOn 28 July 2023, Bassey joined Premier League club Fulham on a four-year deal.[11] Fulham paid Ajax a transfer fee of €21 million.[12]
On 24 February 2024, Bassey scored his first goal for Fulham, the first of his two goals for the club, in a Premier League game against Manchester United in a 1-2 away win. That being his 20th appearance for the club.
International career
editBorn in Italy,[13] Bassey was eligible to play for Italy, Nigeria or England at international level.[13]
In 2021, Bassey committed his international future to Nigeria when he accepted a call-up for their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.[14] He debuted with Nigeria in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Ghana on 25 March 2022.[15]
Personal life
editBassey was born in Italy but moved to England as a child. He grew up in Newham.[16]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 26 December 2024[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Leicester City U21 | 2017–18[18] | — | — | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19[19] | — | — | — | — | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 2019–20[20] | — | — | — | — | 6[a] | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Rangers | 2020–21[21] | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[22] | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15[b] | 0 | — | 50 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 1 | ||
| Ajax | 2022–23[17] | Eredivisie | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| Fulham | 2023–24[23] | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[24] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 108 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 164 | 3 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearances in EFL Trophy
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | |
Honours
editRangers
- Scottish Premiership: 2020–21[27]
- Scottish Cup: 2021–22[28]
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2021–22[29]
Ajax
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023[31]
Individual
Orders
Member of the Order of the Niger[33]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Rangers sign defender Calvin Bassey from Leicester". FourFourTwo. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Calvin Bassey". Premier League. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Exclusive: West Ham submit bid for Leicester City rising star". Football Insider. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Youngster Calvin Bassey Agrees Pre-Contract With Rangers". Leicester City FC. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Rangers 3-0 St Mirren". BBC Sport. 9 August 2020.
- ^ Duncan, Thomas (15 July 2022). "Calvin Bassey: Rangers defender's journey from fringe player to Europa League 'colossus'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Calvin Bassey Joins Ajax In Club Record Transfer". www.rangers.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ Coyle, Andy (20 July 2022). "Rangers sell defender Calvin Bassey to Ajax for club record fee". STV Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Ajax and Rangers FC reach agreement for Calvin Bassey". AFC Ajax. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ PSV down Ajax to lift Dutch Super Cup, News 9 Live, 31 July 2022
- ^ "Fulham sign Bassey". Fulham Football Club. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ "Fulham confirm Calvin Bassey signing from Ajax in €21m transfer". theathletic.com. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Rangers agree four-year deal with Leicester youngster Calvin Bassey". Sky Sports. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Who is Calvin Bassey? Everything you need to know about the new Nigeria invitee". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™". Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "Rangers star says goal growing up was to 'move mum out the hood'". Daily Record. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ a b Calvin Bassey at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Games played by Calvin Bassey in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "Calvin Bassey Internationals". WorldFootball.net. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Calvin Bassey at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Rangers top-flight champions for first time since 2011 after Celtic drop points". BBC Sport. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "Rangers 2-0 Hearts". BBC Sport. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Eintracht Frankfurt 1–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "2021/22 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Afcon: Ivory Coast and Nigeria players get cash, villas and honours". BBC News. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
External links
edit
- Calvin Bassey at the Fulham F.C. website
- Calvin Bassey at Soccerbase
- Calvin Bassey – UEFA competition record (archive)