In the summer of 2023, Fulham confirmed the signing of Calvin Bassey from Ajax for an undisclosed fee, with the defender agreeing a contract until the summer of 2027, with a Club option to extend by a further 12 months.

Born in Italy, Bassey moved to London at a young age, before getting a first taste of academy football at Leicester City.

A move to Rangers in the summer of 2020 saw his career really take off, as he enjoyed a highly prosperous two years in Glasgow.

Bassey’s first campaign saw Rangers win the Scottish Premiership by a remarkable 25 points – a campaign in which they did not suffer a single league defeat, and conceded just 13 goals. Their 26 clean sheets is a Scottish record.

Having operated mainly at left-back in his first season, Bassey split his time between there and centre-half in 2021/22, as Rangers embarked on another excellent season.

In addition to winning the Scottish Cup, the Gers made it all the way to the UEFA Europa League Final, where they were beaten on penalties by Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite the heartbreaking end to their European campaign, Bassey won many plaudits for his performance in the Final – which finished 1-1 – as his pace and strength at the back made it difficult for Frankfurt to create many decent quality chances.

Bassey’s performances on the one of the biggest stages naturally caught the eye, with Ajax parting with an initial €23m to bring him to Amsterdam – a club record sale for Rangers.

Primarily operating at centre-back during his time in the Netherlands, Bassey made 39 appearances for the club across all competitions – including sampling Champions League football for the first time – scoring once and laying on five assists.

An impressive first season at Craven Cottage saw Bassey come second in the Club's Player of the Season vote.