Man Utd should sign Premier League colossus who would be perfect top-six boost for Ruben Amorim: opinion

It takes more than just ability to be a success at Manchester United, with the last decade scattered by players who should have made it, only to leave not long after.

Ruben Amorim inherited a squad that was rotten, it was also imbalanced, and needed to be stripped apart from top to bottom. Only now, after the window closed, can the Red Devils boss truly feel like he has every player singing off the same song sheet. Both results and performances are improving and the cramped nature of the Premier League could offer United some hope of returning to a more lofty position at the end of the season.

Man Utd should make January move for Calvin Bassey

What will help Amorim’s cause is now being able to add players who fit his system, style of play and team-first work ethic and there couldn’t be a more obvious signing right in front of the United recruitment team. Aside from someone like Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace who is used to playing in a 3-4-3 midfield under Oliver Glasner, Calvin Bassey has the physicality, athleticism and skillset needed to fit seamlessly into life at Old Trafford.

At Rangers, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who is now Arne Slot’s no.2 at Liverpool, would change shape during games and sometimes all he would do is move Bassey. Having started as a left-back after signing from Leicester City, the natural left-footer was then moved into the middle of defence due to injuries before also being deployed as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation. At the end of 2021/22, Bassey completed his first full season as an established professional with a place in the Europa League team of the season.

Not only is Bassey used to the pressure of winning at Rangers, he has also endured criticism when his team isn’t playing well at Ajax. A club equally as demanding as Rangers or United in terms of the need to win silverware every season.

Seen as the scapegoat for poor form following a big money move, Bassey only spent a year in the Eredivisie before Fulham matched the £20m that the Dutch giants paid to Rangers only a year earlier. As the club’s player of the year for 2024/25, it is clearly a move that has worked out for the Nigeria international.

Who should drop out to make room for Bassey?

Rather than putting the square peg of Luke Shaw into the left-sided centre-half role, Bassey would be perfect. Not only is he a dominant performer in the Premier League and statistically better than both Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt, the lightning quick colossus hardly misses a game.

The 25-year old has missed just three games since 2020/21, one with a cold two seasons ago for Fulham and two for Rangers due to Covid-19 quarantine regulations after spending an evening with other players from the Scottish club’s squad at a flat in the same corridor as his own.

Successful teams need a solid base and Bassey could provide both a short and long-term answer on the left-hand side of defence which would also give Amorim the ability to adapt his shape without making substitutes, he would also be classed as an association trained player for UEFA squad quotas.

If he has a weakness, it is that his right foot could do with being a bit better, but when his strengths are as good as they are, he more than gets away with it. Bassey won’t be at Fulham forever and there is nowhere better suited than United to be his next club