Sky Sports: Lange plotting AVFC bid for "tremendous" £25m talent, he's Gerrard's dream - opinion

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is reportedly still keen on adding Rangers defender Calvin Bassey to his squad this summer, despite the recent addition of Diego Carlos.

As per Sky Sports‘ Rob Dorsett, the Midlands side are looking to add to their three early acquisitions in the upcoming window, with Gerrard still ‘keen to strengthen’ both in midfield and defence, in particular.

The report suggests that additions to the backline are particularly important to the Liverpool legend as he ‘wants more’ depth to his squad, with 22-year-old Bassey named as one of the club’s ‘key defensive targets’ this summer.

This follows speculation that Villa are already ‘closing in’ on a move for the Nigeria international, with some quarters suggesting that a deal could be worth as much as £25m.

The signing of the aforementioned Carlos has already bolstered the club’s backline, although it would appear that Gerrard is still craving added quality in order to try and improve upon their 14th place finish in the most recent campaign.

In Bassey, the Englishman would be turning to a familiar face having brought the versatile defender to Ibrox from Leicester City back in the summer of 2020, eventually handing the £900k-rated gem his senior debut later that year.

Dubbed “outstanding” by his former boss due to his form in his debut campaign in Scotland, the Italy-born colossus did have to bide his time during the 2020/21 season, although has since kicked on to become a key figure for the Premiership outfit, making 49 appearances during the 2021/22 campaign in all campaign.

Comfortable both at centre-back and on the left of the defence, the £6.4k-per-week star was particularly impressive as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side surged to the Europa League