English Premier League leaders Arsenal were in the market for a left sided centre defender during the recently concluded summer transfer window and they had a look at several options but failed to sign any of their targets.
The departure of Pablo Mari to newly promoted Italian Serie A side Monza made it imperative for the team to get a left sided centre back as they are left with just two options in Gabriel Meghales and Rob Holding.
According to the agency of Nigeria international defender Calvin Bassey, the 23 year old was among the options looked at by Arsenal with preliminary talks initiated between the Gunners and his former team Rangers of Scotland.
After impressing in Rangers remarkable run to the final of the Europa League, Bassey became the bride of most teams in Europe but settled for Ajax due to what his agent said is a promise of regular football which will further aid his development.
” Arsenal contacted us and we made it known to Rangers but they didn’t follow up on the discussion. We also had interest from Aston Villa and West Ham but at the end Ajax had the best offer not in terms of money but for his development as they promised me regular game time”, a representative of the agency told OwnGoalNigeria.com.