Calvin Chinedu Bassey (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 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
Leicester City
Bassey 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
On 6 June 2020, Bassey signed a pre-contract with Rangers, with him due to officially join the club with the opening of the summer transfer window in July. 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.
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.
Ajax
In July 2022, it was confirmed by Rangers that Bassey had been sold to Ajax for a club record fee of around £20 million. 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.
Fulham
On 28 July 2023, Bassey joined Premier League club Fulham on a four-year deal.[11] Fulham paid Ajax a transfer fee of €21 million.
-2.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
International career
Born in Italy, Bassey was eligible to play for Italy, Nigeria or England at international level.
In 2021, Bassey committed his international future to Nigeria when he accepted a call up for their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He debuted with Nigeria in a 0–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Ghana on 25 March 2022.
Personal life
Bassey was born in Italy but moved to England as a child. He grew up in Newham.[16]
Bassey is the brother of English rapper Y.CB (real name Matthew Bassey), who makes music under UK drill group 7th.
