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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard picked out youngster Calvin Bassey for huge praise after his display on Thursday against Standard Liege in the Europa League group stages.

The Gers produced an excellent away performance in Europe to beat their Belgian opposition 2-0, with Kemar Roofe clinching the three points in stoppage time with a stunning halfway-line goal that may have already clinched goal of the season.

It was a night to remember for Bassey, who made just his sixth first-team appearance when he was used as a substitute to replace injured full-back Borna Barisic.

Bassey was thrown into the action just before half-time and he produced an excellent second-half display to show a glimpse of his quality.

The 20-year-old left-back looked defensively assured, while going forward he was a real threat with his pace, energy and power to run at the Standard Liege backline.

Gerrard has given a glowing verdict on the defender’s performance, claiming that he’s going to develop further at Ibrox.

“I thought he was outstanding, coming into a game of that level with so little experience. We are all proud of him and with time we believe we can develop him even further. He is in a good place and he is ready, every time he has been called upon he has produced,” Gerrard said, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account.

TBR’s View:

Bassey has surely reached nowhere near his potential yet, as he joined Rangers in the summer from Leicester City without any senior experience in football and he’s now played just six times for the Scottish giants.

Barisic, 27, has got the left-back role nailed-down right now when he’s fit, but they have an exciting young understudy with so much potential and it’s no surprise that Gerrard is excited about him.

There could be comparisons made with Celtic’s electric 19-year-old right-back Jeremie Frimong in terms of their quality from full-back, albeit he’s had far more experience at this stage in his career and is currently ahead of him.