Calvin Bassey[1] (né Ughelumba, born 31 December 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Nigeria national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Calvin Bassey[1] | ||
| Birth name | Calvin Ughelumba[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-12-31) 31 December 1999 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Aosta, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back, centre-back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Ajax | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CM Futsal Academy | |||
| 2015–2020 | Leicester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Rangers | 37 | (0) |
| 2022– | Ajax | 12 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2022– | Nigeria | 8 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:26, 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:07, 17 November 2022 (UTC) | |||
Bassey is a product of Leicester City's youth system but didn't 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.
Bassey was born in Italy but has represented Nigeria at international level since making his debut in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Ghana in March 2022.
Bassey joined Leicester City at the age of 15 after a successful trial[2] and progressed through the club's youth ranks, with regular appearances for the clubs' under-18 and under-23 sides.
On 6 June 2020, Bassey signed a pre-contract with Rangers,[3] with him due to officially join 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.[4]
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.[5]
In July 2022, it was confirmed by Rangers that Bassey had been sold to Ajax for a club record fee of around £20 million.[6][7][8] 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.[9]
Born in Italy,[10] Bassey was eligible to play for Italy, Nigeria or England at international level.[10]
In 2021, Bassey committed his international future to Nigeria when he accepted a call up for their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.[11] He debuted with Nigeria in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Ghana on 25 March 2022.[12]
Calvin Bassey is the brother of English rapper Y.CB, real name Matthew Bassey, who makes music under UK drill group 7th.[13]
| 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[15] | — | — | — | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19[16] | — | — | — | — | — | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2019–20[17] | — | — | — | — | — | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Rangers | 2020–21[18] | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| 2021–22[19] | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 50 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 1 | ||
| Ajax | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Career total | 49 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 95 | 2 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
Rangers
Individual
AFC Ajax – current squad | |
|---|---|