# Calvin Bassey

Calvin Bassey MON (né Ughelumba, born 31 December 1999) is a Nigerian 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 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, officially joining 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. Fulham paid Ajax a transfer fee of €21 million.
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 2–1 away win. That being his 20th appearance for the club. Bassey finished the Premier League season with 29 appearances.

## 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 to Nigerian parents, but moved to England as a child. He grew up in Newham.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Leicester City U21 | 2017–18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Leicester City U21 | 2018–19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Leicester City U21 | 2019–20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Leicester City U21 | Total | Total | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Rangers | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 |
| Rangers | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | — | — | 50 | 0 |
| Rangers | Total | Total | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 | — | — | 65 | 1 |
| Ajax | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| Fulham | 2023–24 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 1 |
| Fulham | 2024–25 | Premier League | 28 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 2 |
| Fulham | Total | Total | 57 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 61 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 119 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 176 | 5 |
* ↑ Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
* ↑ Includes Scottish League Cup, EFL Cup
* 1 2 3 Appearances in EFL Trophy
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield

### International

    As of match played 14 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Nigeria | 2022 | 8 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 2023 | 7 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 2024 | 14 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 29 | 0 |

## Honours

Rangers
* Scottish Premiership: 2020–21
* Scottish Cup: 2021–22
* UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2021–22
Ajax
* KNVB Cup runner-up: 2022–23
Nigeria
* Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2023
Individual
* UEFA Europa League Team of the Season: 2021–22
Orders
* Member of the Order of the Niger