Former Dons loan star James Maddison was key to Calvin Bassey saying yes to Rangers move

Calvin Bassey consulted a man who put Rangers to the sword before deciding to join the Ibrox club.

The 20-year-old defender left Leicester City last month, where he was a team-mate of midfield star, James Maddison.

It’s nearly four years since Maddison smacked home an amazing free-kick to give Aberdeen a 2-1 victory over the Light Blues at Pittodrie.

The England man was on loan at the Dons from Norwich City, and his spell north of the border helped to kick-start his career .

Now he’s now regarded as one of the most-creative players in the Premier League.

Bassey was able to admire his skills at close hand over the past two seasons, and revealed: “I spoke to James about how he found Scottish football when he was with Aberdeen.

“He told me of his experiences, and said that as long as I give my all, I should be OK.

“He added that if I work hard, do my thing on the training ground and take my chance when it comes along, I could do well. So hopefully he is right.

“It’s not an easy decision to make on your future for someone as young as me.

“As soon as Rangers came in, however, it was a privilege to join a world-famous club with a lot of history.

“I took myself out of my comfort zone and moved away from family.

“But you’ve got to make some sacrifices, and that’s one of the sacrifices I had to make.

“I’m focusing on where I’m at now, and I’ll do all I can to become as good as I can and fulfil my potential.”

Bassey is a player used to change.

He was involved in Rangers’ closed-doors friendly with Hamilton Accies on Friday, and scored his side’s equaliser in a 2-1 win.

But he had previously accepted that scoring goals wasn’t going to be his role if he wanted to succeed in professional football.

He went on: “I always played as a striker when I was younger, and then moved to left-wing.

“I started going further back, because at Leicester there was a need for a left-back. Sometimes you need to adapt to your environment.

“Every player is different, and I try to take all the good bits I see in other people and add it to my game.

“I’m a player who is always open to learning, and I’ve had to learn things throughout my career.

“The modern-day full-back is different to what it was 10 or 15 years ago.

“You need quality going forward. But, at the same time, you are a defender first and foremost, and have to stop those crosses, get tight to your man and win headers.”

There’s no doubt that Bassey has a fight on his hands to prove he can become a first-team regular at Rangers.

He’ll be competing with Borna Barisic for his preferred left-back spot, and the Croatian is one of the most-consistent performers in light blue.

There are other players still trying to make their mark after a season or more at Ibrox, men like Jordan Jones and Brandon Barker, who have made little positive impact to date.

Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister has challenged them to show what they can do.

He said: “For these guys in particular, as much as lockdown has been horrendous for everybody from every walk of life, for the guys on the edges of the team, it might have been a good time for them to reflect.

“Where can they improve, and how can they make that push into the team?

“They have to get into the manager’s eye every day at training, and make him pick them.

“So the onus is on them.

“We’re waiting on them, and they did have a chance – I think they’ve accepted that.

“I’ve seen players take a second chance at clubs.

“It should be a given from these guys. They should be looking at the guy who has the number of the shirt they’re after and saying: ‘I need to get better at what you’re doing’.”

“It’s pretty simple.”