Letting a player leave is sometimes the best options but when the player go on to become a success elsewhere, questions will no doubt be asked about the decision and also those who made it.
That is certainly the case with Leicester City and the decision to let Nigeria international defender Calvin Bassey leave the club for free two years ago. He has since gone on to become one of the best young defenders in Europe.
He followed up his breakthrough season at Rangers by posting man of the match display in all of the games he has played for his new team Ajax, the team he joined in the summer. He made his Champions League debut against his old team and his performance led to talks about how he rose to his present level.
Bassey was turned down by the likes of Leyton Orient and Barnet as a youngster but Bill Wall, one of the most respected scouts in the game, saw his potential and he helped Leicester City, who faced no competition in signing the youngster but were excited to get the deal done.
Leicester City lost Bassey to Rangers for minimal compensation in the summer of 2020 after he turned down the offer of a new contract. He did so because City’s coaching staff, including then under-23s boss Steve Beaglehole, saw Bassey’s future as a centre-back. Bassey put his foot down, insisting he wanted to be a left-back, and departed without reaching an agreement.
At Rangers he was modelled from a left back to a centre back same role he refused to accept as his best role. The joy for Leicester City academy handlers is that he is excelling in a role they thought is his favourite year ago, however they would have love it the more if he is representing them as they have a crisis in defence.
