Calvin Bassey has given a candid and thoughtful account of his career journey, explaining why the pace and physicality of the Premier League clicked for him far more naturally than Ajax’s demanding positional system in the Eredivisie.
The Super Eagles centre back, who has established himself as one of Fulham’s most important defenders since joining from Ajax in 2023, spoke candidly about the contrasting demands of English and Dutch football in a wide ranging interview, as reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng. Bassey said his familiarity with the English game, shaped from his years in the Leicester City academy system, made Premier League life feel like a natural fit even as he still needed a settling in period.
“The English league is easier for me because I am used to English football,” he told AjaxShowTime. “Many managers come from abroad, mine is Portuguese, but it is the system I am familiar with. What you do at Ajax takes time.”
Bassey Reflects Honestly on His Difficult Time at Ajax
The 26 year old was refreshingly open about the struggles he faced at Ajax, where he moved in July 2022 after two impressive seasons at Rangers in Scotland. Ajax paid the highest transfer fee in Rangers’ history to sign him, but his one season in Amsterdam was marked more by criticism than the form he had shown north of the border.
Bassey attributed much of that difficulty to the unique tactical demands Ajax place on every player in their squad, particularly full backs and centre backs who are expected to function almost like midfielders in the build-up phase. “At Ajax, a full-back plays more like a number six in possession, or he moves as soon as you receive the ball,” he explained. “So if you understand it tactically and know where your next pass needs to go, it becomes easier.”
He used a telling example to describe how his natural instincts clashed with Ajax’s system. “If my first touch was to the outside, which was natural for me because I expect the full backs to be there, my passing lane was immediately blocked, because the full-back at Ajax can cut inside.” The detail reveals just how much the Ajax model demands players essentially reprogram their default football instincts.
Age and Experience Were Key Factors
Bassey was also honest that timing played a role in his Ajax struggles. He arrived at 22, still young enough that a longer adaptation window might have unlocked more of his potential at the club. “When you are young, and at that time I was 21 or 22, I might have needed another season to settle in. Just like in England. I needed a year there to settle in as well. After that, I played most of the matches and became Player of the Year at the club.”
That reference to Player of the Year points to his 2024-25 season at Fulham, when he was voted the club’s Player of the Season by supporters, a recognition of how significantly he had grown into Marco Silva’s system at Craven Cottage. For Nigerian fans planning to back Bassey and Fulham next season, the Bet9ja’s YOHAIG welcome bonus is worth grabbing ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
A Mindset Built Around Learning From Mistakes
One of the most striking parts of Bassey’s interview was the philosophy he has developed around growth and making errors. Rather than treating mistakes as setbacks to be avoided at all costs, he now sees them as the engine of improvement. “I feel like I understand the game more, but that is clearly due to the experience you gain,” he said. “The only way to know you are doing something wrong is to simply do it wrong. But it is also about the mentality. You have to be willing to make mistakes so that you can improve.”
It is a mentality that has served him well at Fulham, where he has become a reliable defensive presence over three seasons. The club finished 10th in the 2025-26 Premier League table, a respectable mid-table finish for a side managed by the Portuguese coach Marco Silva. Bassey started regularly throughout the campaign, continuing to show the physicality, recovery pace and defensive aggression that have made him one of the more underrated defenders in the league.
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From Leicester’s Academy to the Super Eagles
Bassey’s journey to becoming a Premier League regular is one of the more interesting backstories in Nigerian football. Born in Aosta, Italy, he moved to England as a teenager and joined Leicester City’s academy at 15 before signing for Rangers in 2020 on a pre-contract. Two seasons of impressive form in Scotland, including winning the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup, earned him the big Ajax move. Now settled at Craven Cottage with a four year deal signed in July 2023, his future looks firmly rooted in the Premier League.
His reflections on Ajax serve as a reminder that even talented players need time, the right system, and the right stage to show what they are capable of. In Bassey’s case, the Premier League turned out to be exactly that. Nigerian football fans following his Super Eagles career can check out the what is the Bet9ja promotion code page for a breakdown of all available bonuses before the next international window.
📌 Did You Know?
- Calvin Bassey’s full birth name is Calvin Chinedu Ughelumba. He adopted the surname Bassey, and was born on December 31, 1999 in Aosta, northern Italy, to Nigerian parents.
- Rangers received the highest transfer fee in their club’s history when Ajax signed Bassey in July 2022, a deal reportedly worth around £22.5 million with add-ons.
- Bassey joined Leicester City’s youth academy at just 15 years old after a successful trial, spending five years in their development system before leaving for Rangers without making a senior appearance for the Foxes.
- At Rangers, Bassey scored his first professional goal in a memorable Old Firm derby against Celtic, a match that helped cement his status as a cult figure among the Ibrox support.
- Fulham’s manager Marco Silva is Portuguese, making Craven Cottage home to a distinctly cosmopolitan setup, yet Bassey has said the English tactical approach still feels more natural to him than the Dutch system he encountered at Ajax.
- Bassey made his Nigeria international debut in 2022 and has since been a regular fixture in the Super Eagles squad, typically partnering with William Troost-Ekong or Leon Balogun at the heart of the defence.
- In the 2024-25 season, Bassey was voted Fulham’s Player of the Season by supporters, recognition of a campaign in which he was one of the most consistent defenders outside the traditional top six clubs in the Premier League.
