The Calvin Bassey moment that triggered Rangers transfer as rookie caught Ibrox eye as man among boys

Calvin Bassey was a couple of months short of his 18th birthday when he first got the chance to sample Ibrox Stadium.

And the young Leicester City kid left his mark in more ways than one in that 6-1 rout against the Rangers development squad.

Former Ibrox striker Ryan Hardie felt the full force of his physicality after, according to the match report he was “barged off his feet and the ball”, inside the box by Bassey.

Hardie then slotted away the resulting spot kick but it was scant consolation in a 6-1 thumping by the Foxes youngsters.

However, it was Bassey’s ability to recover that left Hardie in awe as he stood in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to watch his old club last week.

Bassey recovered from a slip to make a last-ditch recovery tackle to deny Eintracht Frankfurt ’s Rafael Borre.

Hardie was amazed at the 22-year-old’s desire as he kept going to the bitter end despite the stifling Seville heat.

Also in the stadium that night was another player who featured in that bounce game five years ago and upstaged his good friend and team-mate.

Conor Tee netted a hat-trick in that Ibrox romp that Graeme Murty described at the time as a very harsh lesson for his youngsters.

And he beamed with pride after travelling to Seville join the tens of thousands of Rangers fans to watch his old roommate on one of the biggest stages of all.

Tee recalled that game in September 2017 but believes a return match a couple of years later was the one that really convinced the Ibrox side, by then managed by Steven Gerrard, to make a move.

Current captain James Tavernier, Greg Docherty and Greg Stewart were on target against the Foxes academy side with Jermain Defoe playing in a strong looking line-up.

But Bassey did enough to