Adriaan de Mos, a Dutch tactician, says Nigerian international Calvin Bassey is not Ajax material and that signing him was a mistake.
The versatile defender had a standout season with Scottish powerhouse Rangers in 2021–2022 season, and the Eredivisie champions wasted no time in signing him.
The Nigerian international has participated in nine league games for Ajax this year and has contributed to their 28-point haul, which has kept them atop the standings.
His and the team’s overall Champions League performances have drawn criticism, though. The Dutch team has played five games and lost all of them, scoring just eight goals while surrendering 15 along the way.
The most embarrassing loss was a 6-1 setback at home to Napoli of Italy. Andrian De Mos contends that one of the team’s problems can be attributed to Bassey.
“Bassey is not an Ajax player for me. And I can’t imagine anyway why you would bring a player from the Scottish league to Ajax,” the experienced tactician said as quoted by Football Transfers.
“He has no speed of action, no insight. And before he has turned, a day has passed. There is no feeling in him.”
In Ajax’s last Group A Champions League match against Rangers on Tuesday, Bassey expects to play a part.
Ajax is currently third with three points, and if they don’t win, they’ll be down to the Europa League.
Who is Andrian De Mos?
Adriaan “Aad” de Mos, a Dutch retired professional football manager whose career lasted nearly thirty years, was born on March 27, 1947.
He has also overseen the national teams of the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and his native country.
The 1987–88 European Cup Winners’ Cup was won by De Mos while serving as manager of the Belgian club Mechelen.
Tessa De Mos, a daughter of De Mos, was born in 1982 and has been working as a FIFA-licensed football agent since 2005. She now represents a number of Eredivisie players.
Who is Calvin Bassey?
Calvin Bassey, formerly Ughelumba, was born on December 31, 1999, and currently plays left back or center back for Eredivisie club Ajax as well as the Nigerian national team.
Although a graduate of Leicester City’s junior program, Bassey never played for the club at the senior level before joining Rangers on a free transfer in July 2020.
He played 65 times for Rangers in two seasons, helping them to the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup. He joined Dutch club Ajax in July 2022, leaving Rangers with the largest transfer fee in their history.
Although Bassey was born in Italy, he has played for Nigeria at the international level ever since he made his debut against Ghana in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match in March 2022.
The majority of Ajax’s Eredivisie games in 2022/2023 have featured Calvin Bassey, who has made eight appearances and logged 720 minutes.
Over the course of their 11 games, he has started all eight of these outings.
On October 22, Bassey last participated in a league match, playing the full 90 minutes for Ajax against RKC Waalwijk in a 4-1 victory.
The defender contributed two assists and one goal to the Eredivisie in 2022–2023.
On October 8, he scored in a 4-2 victory over Volendam to open his account for the season.
Ajax, who leads the league with 28 points, will host PSV in the club’s upcoming Eredivisie encounter on November 6.
Bassey played for Rangers in 29 Premiership games last year and contributed three assists.
