Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara has sparked a debate in England after comparing Nigeria international defender Calvin Bassey to Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk.
O’Hara in the studio with fellow pundit Jason Cundy during the course of Rangers Europa League defeat at the hands of German side Eintracht Frankfurt. The duo were full of praise for the 21 year old Nigerian.
Cundy’s description of Bassey’s performance made O’Hara to likened it to Van Dijk’s performances for Liverpool which is usually made up of calmness on the ball, good passing range and high success rate when it comes to making tackles.
“Can we just talk about Calvin Bassey for a second because he caught you and our eye,” Cundy said on the radio.
“He looked sensational tonight, absolutely sensational.”I thought he was the best player on the pitch, he was immense.”
O’Hara piped in simply with: “Like Van Dijk!”
That comment sparked a conversation among fans of the senior national team of England with most of them saying Bassey should have waited for his time with the senior national team of England instead of committing to Nigeria.
The Rangers defender was eligible for Italy where he was born and England where he was raised but decided to play for Nigeria at senior level, that decision is now facing scrutiny from a section of the fans of the national team of England.
“He shouldn’t have been in a hurry. He looks very much a future England international if he hasn’t commited to Nigeria”, Percy Jackson wrote on Twitter.
” Bassey better than Marc Guehi who is an English international. One waited while Bassey picked Nigeria too early. That’s a mistake”, Jacob Andrew also wrote on Twitter.
