Rangers defender Calvin Bassey has one game left to show interim manager Augustine Eguavoen that he can star for Nigeria at the upcoming African Cup of Nations tournament as the squad announcement date looms.
The Super Eagles interim boss must name his final 23-man squad for the major tournament on January 2 and Bassey only has the boxing day match against St Mirren left to prove he is worthy of a place in the squad.
Bassey was called up for the World Cup qualifiers in October by former coach Gernot Rohr, although he didn’t make his debut and he was snubbed for the latest round of matches last month as Nigeria qualified for the next stage of the qualifying process.
The 21-year-old has been in fantastic form this season. Steven Gerrard signed him from Leicester in the summer of 2020 as cover for Borna Barišić at left-back.
Although appearances were hard to come by last season, he did impress whenever called upon and grabbed a league winners medal in his first season at the club.
This campaign has been somewhat of a breakthrough one for the defender as the defensive backline has been depleted due to injuries which have enabled Bassey to step in and cover at centre back, a position he has looked entirely natural in and impressed thus far.
These recent impressive performances will hopefully have gone a long way into catching the eye of Nigeria’s interim manager as he looks to make his debut at the upcoming tournament.
With the recent news that the Scottish winter break is set to be brought forward, the match against St Mirren provides the defender with one last chance to impress.
His recent rock-solid performances have shown that he would be an asset to Nigeria in their quest for AFCON glory.
Meanwhile, Rangers have been linked with a move for £3m rated Hibs talent amid Premier League reports.
