The Super Eagle must soar again: Calvin Bassey's fight to reclaim his place in Fulham's backline

Over four weeks ago, Calvin Bassey was the best centre-back at the Africa Cup of Nations. Today, he is warming a bench in West London, watching a defensive unit fall apart without him.

Something does not add up. And this Sunday, when Fulham travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland, Super Eagles star Calvin Bassey has a chance to make the answer very clear.

The AFCON high

Bassey returned from Morocco as a decorated man. Nigeria may have settled for bronze, but the Fulham defender was one of the tournament's standout performers.

He was commanding, aggressive, and almost impossible to beat in the air or on the ground. CAF noticed, too. They named him in the Team of the Tournament.

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle was not subtle in his admiration. Speaking after the tournament, he said Bassey had been "crazy" throughout and that if forced to choose the best central defender at the entire competition, his answer was simple: Calvin Bassey.

That kind of praise does not come cheap. It is the sort of recognition that should walk a player back into his club with his head high and his place secure.

Instead, Bassey returned to find his shirt had been quietly handed to someone else. Frozen Out

Since coming back to Craven Cottage, the innit boy has started just once in five Premier League matches. He has watched from the sidelines, tracksuit on, as Fulham's defensive record has collapsed around him.

Three consecutive league defeats. At least two goals conceded in each. Marco Silva, one of the sharper tactical minds in the division, is running out of answers at the back and the solution may have been sitting on his bench all along.

It is the kind of situation that tests a footballer's character. The easy response is frustration, withdrawal, quiet resentment. The Bassey response, if his AFCON performances are anything to go by, is to stay ready and make the manager regret the decision the moment an opportunity arrives. Sunday is that opportunity.

Two sides desperate for a win

Sunderland are not the force they were earlier this season. The Black Cats, who dazzled in the opening months, have lost four of their last six.

Back-to-back home defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, the first time this season they have lost consecutive games at the Stadium of Light. The early magic has faded, and their supporters are growing restless.

Fulham arrive in equally poor form, sitting 12th with 38 points, just two ahead of Sunderland in 11th. With 12 games remaining and European football now a distant dream, both sides are fighting for something simpler but no less important - pride, momentum, and a top-half finish.

There is added spice to this fixture. With Alex Iwobi also likely to feature for Fulham, this is as close to an African derby as the Premier League will offer this weekend. Nigerian football fans will be watching closely.

The case for Bassey

The numbers from Morocco tell their own story. Eleven clearances in one match alone. Not a single player dribbled past him throughout the tournament. He held off some of the continent's most dangerous attackers as if it were routine.

That is not a player who should be an afterthought in a struggling defence. That is a player who should be the foundation of one.

Silva has a decision to make. Fulham need defensive steel, leadership, and someone who knows what it means to hold a line under pressure. Bassey spent three weeks in Morocco proving he has all three.

The Eagle has been quiet long enough. The Stadium of Light on Sunday is where the roar returns.