'He's fast and strong' – Ajax legend back Bassey amid criticisms

Ex-Ajax winger Kenneth Perez has backed Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey amid heavy criticisms targeted at the young defender for his performance.

The 23-year-old has come under immense scrutiny for his poor passing ability and his offensive weaknesses.

Bassey has fallen on the pecking order at Ajax following the sacking of coach Alfred Schreuder following a string of poor results.

Having made make 16 starts across all competitions under the former boss, the Super Eagles defender has been coming off the bench under new interim manager, John Heitinga.

Despite the backlash from some Ajax legends and fans, the 48-year-old former Danish winger who featured for Ajax in his heydays, Kenneth Perez believes Bassey is useful to the team.

“He (Bassey) was not the saviour, but with him, you can play further from your goal and put more pressure forward,” he told ESPN as reported by Ajax Showtime.

“He’s got speed enough to solve it in the depths behind you. He’s just fast and strong. It’s a drama on the ball, but he’s a very good one at that sort of thing. You can very well have him with you for this kind of job.”

Bassey joined the Eredivisie champions for a record fee of £19.6m (€23m) from Glasgow Rangers last summer.

WDN