Position: Striker
Age: 20 *
At Club Since: Summer 2024
Total Club League Appearances (Goals): 25(2) *
It can’t be easy making appearances so sparsely over the course of a campaign, most of which have come from the bench, but Norman Bassette has yet to show the quality to build on the early promise he showed at Coventry City. A prodigiously hard-working player with a nice burst of acceleration to him, Bassette has really struggled with the physical and technical side that comes with playing as a centre-forward at Championship level. Someone who was probably over-played and over-hyped earlier in the campaign, this was probably a year or so too early for Bassette to make an impact at the level the Sky Blues are at.
Norman Bassette quickly made himself a fans’ favourite at Coventry City for the work-rate he puts in as a striker. The kind of player who will chase any and every loose ball, regardless of whether it’s intelligent to do so. With a fiery on-pitch persona, Bassette plays very much like a fan would if they got into the team. The issue for Bassette has mainly been what has happened once he’s got on the ball, seeming to lack the technical quality to make things happen while also being well short of the physicality required to compete against opposing centre-backs and impose himself on games, although he does have the pace to threaten in behind. Two goals – both of which were efforts that essentially hit him on the way in – from 25 appearances underlines just how little Bassette has provided the team where it really matters.
It feels as if Norman Bassette faces an important summer in making the strides required to make more of a tangible impact for the team. While the early comparisons with Viktor Gyokeres were both wide of the mark and unfair, Bassette could learn from the Swede’s example in taking the opportunity of a summer break to bulk up physically and work on the technical aspects of his game. There will surely be a consideration to get him out on loan to a team that will play him regularly, but Bassette will have to make a notable impact or he will be out of sight and out of mind. While he is only one year into a four-year contract, next year feels a crucial one in Norman Bassette’s Coventry City career.
*As of 18/04/2025
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