The Brendan Rodgers blindspot as Calvin Bassey Rangers heroics foretold by his Leicester City fan club

In the most exhausting of seasons it was apt that Rangers' marathon man Calvin Bassey finished with a flourish.

The 22-year-old defender capped off a rousing campaign with consecutive standout displays in the Europa League Final and the Scottish Cup win over Hearts.

Whether it be at left back or central defence as part of a two or a three – Bassey proved an unwavering presence from start to finish for the Ibrox side.

The Nigeria international's name was trending amid the heat of battle in Seville, as lovers of the beautiful game unfamiliar with him were left wanting to know more.

The interest in Bassey, followed by a cursory glance at his career before Rangers, had many onlookers asking why did Leicester City let him go?

And that had many questioning Brendan Rodgers and the Foxes hierarchy – so often transfer trendsetters – for not securing him a new deal before he agreed a pre-contract with the Ibrox side in the summer of 2020.

Hindsight is a blessing, of course, and while there certainly wasn't apoplexy over his free transfer to Rangers there was sense Leicester were taking a risk in allowing his departure, even with Luke Thomas' emergence.

James Maddison labelled Bassey "some player", while a host of City accounts on social media heralding a player who was "powerful and could play multiple positions".

And Leicester fan FoxesintheBoxes prophetically posted on Twitter: "Can play both left back and centre back.

"Had a good amount of pace and power. Decent strength. Overall promising player and can only improve.

"Not sure he’ll start immediately but year or two I think he should be heavily involved."

Rodgers' main focus at Leicester City is in on-field performance but the former Celtic boss' voice is heard in terms of both incoming and outgoings at the King Power Stadium.

And Bassey's head-turning displays for Rangers does once again raise the question over the 49-year-old's eye for a central defender.

Yes, the Ibrox standout operated mostly as a left-back but his former youth coach Steve Beaglehole was able to predict the future when he admitted his former prized pupil would have been perfect for City's exploits in the Europa League.

He also noted Bassey's innate ability to play both at full-back and in a more central role.

And, perhaps, the man who has Rangers fans swooning wasn't spotted due to what could well be Rodgers' blindspot.

The Leicester boss currently has one of the best young defenders in world football in Wesley Fofana at his disposal but his eye for stoppers has been questioned over the years.

Rodgers defended himself over the £85m he spent on reinforcements during his Liverpool days and, speaking in 2019, noted: "Did I have the players to defend how we would want to defend?"

His time at Celtic was a roaring success but two different misfires proved that a lapse in the market was always more likely to come at the back rather than going forward.

Rodgers rated Jack Hendry and felt the defender's natural pace and comfort on the ball were the building blocks needed for him to become a star in Glasgow's east end.

But it never happened for a player who failed to win supporters over but is now turning heads with the Scotland national team after reviving his fortunes in Belgium.

The cautionary tale of Marvin Compper followed and it became apparent, after an error strewn debut against Morton, that the German's mechanical movements would need more than WD40 to fix.

Rodgers covets players who are athletic and can get around the pitch and that's what makes the arrival of the then 32-year-old RB Leipzig outcast so galling.

It also makes the decision to allow Bassey to leave the Leicester more surprising considering he fits the mould of the players he loves to develop.

Rodgers isn't without his wins defensively with Garry Monk going from League Two to Swansea stalwart in the English Premier League.

The much-maligned Dedryck Boyata was underrated and his knack for a gaffe was the only blot against a player who was excellent in the air, and was crucial to Celtic's trophy-laden stint under the Irishman.

Joe Gomez was also bought under his watch at Liverpool and only serious injuries have slowed a burgeoning career at Anfield.

But the case of Bassey and the decision by Leicester not to move heaven and earth to keep him appears stranger by the day.

Teams will always make mistakes in the market, but self scouting your own is also key when it comes to success.

Rangers supporters will hope his breakthrough season isn't a farewell rather than the start of something special.

But the defender possesses the quality, positional versatility and ability in the final third to earn the Ibrox side their highest ever transfer fee only recently smashed by Nathan Patterson when he joined Everton for £12m.

And it may well be former boss Steven Gerrard who makes his move with the Aston Villa boss understood to be keen.

But he won't be the only manager urging their director of football to make a move for a Leicester's former academy standout.

Bassey's grand arrival to eyes beyond Scotland against Eintracht Frankfurt feels like the start of big things to come.