It’s certainly been a rollercoaster opening season in Coventry City colours for frontman Norman Bassette.
Arriving from French second tier side Caen in August 2024, many would have hoped the then-teenager would be the next superstar of the Championship, but it’s been anything but for the Belgian.
Despite being lauded by Mark Robins at the beginning of last season, Bassette only made two starts before his dismissal, but gained a fresh start under Frank Lampard.
Bassette would go on to be a regular under the ex-Chelsea icon in the early stages, featuring prominently at the beginning of November through to the turn of 2025.
But heading into the second half of the season, minutes really dwindled, with single-minute cameos off the bench occurring against the likes of Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City and Watford.
After his short introduction in South Wales at the start of February, Bassette would feature just four more times for the rest of the term, casting serious doubt about whether he has a future under Lampard.
| Norman Bassete’s 24/25 Championship Coventry City stats (Fotmob) | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 25 |
| Starts | 11 |
| Minutes played | 904 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 0 |
With such a lack of game time over the last few months, Bassette has been touted for a move back to his homeland this summer, with Standard Liege and Anderlecht reportedly interested in securing his services.
With this in mind, FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has issued his thoughts on what Bassette’s future looks like in a Sky Blues shirt.
Coventry City advised to negotiate Norman Bassette loan exit rather than permanent switch
Speaking to Football League World, our Coventry City fan pundit Chris Deez, has admitted that Bassette may have to leave the club in order to gain regular game time, but would prefer a loan exit over a permanent switch altogether.
Deez said: “Norman Bassette is a really weird one. From the little glimpses we’ve seen of him, he’s got the fire and the passion that you want to see from your players, he annoys and winds up the other team, goads them into fouling him.
“Frank Lampard has only had good, positive things to say about him, how much he likes him, his attitude and his desire. But then the lad has barely got on the pitch, and it doesn’t make sense when you look at how poorly our strikers performed, especially in the second half of last season.
“I’m not surprised that teams have come in for him looking at taking him on a permanent. I would rather loan him out, whether that would be to somebody in our league, the lower end of the table or League One.
“It’s hard to say what standard of football he can deliver. We’ve not seen it consistently enough, and I don’t know if he’s a Belgian League quality player or if he’s League One. Who knows?
“But if he’s not going to be in Lampard’s immediate plans then I would certainly look at loaning him out for at least six months. I’m not particularly bothered about where it is that he goes on loan, as long as they use him regularly, so that we can actually get a good feel for what this lad is all about.
“I think most Coventry fans like him and want to see what he can do for us.”
Coventry City should sanction Norman Bassette loan deal to continue development
Norman Bassette originally signed for Coventry City on a four-year contract for around €3.5 million, so there doesn’t need to be any rush from the Sky Blues’ side to bring an end to his short stay at the CBS Arena.
At just the age of 20, Bassette does need a lot more experience at the top end of football in Europe to be in contention for a regular starting role under Frank Lampard, and could well benefit from a move away to a different side that will trust him to lead the line.
It’s also worth noting that Bassette is reportedly still motivated to fight for his place in the West Midlands, so it seems logical to sanction a short-term move away so he can then come back to Coventry the following season and showcase how much he’s developed.
While it could be a while before Bassette reaches the peak of his powers, Coventry should show the patience that he can achieve it during his contract length, and they could well be the beneficiaries of a second tier marksman by showing faith in his abilities.
